


Star Light, Star Bright

by dreamingeternally, koalawhisperer



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Kidlock, Roleplay, in which John Watson is a fallen star
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-11 00:35:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingeternally/pseuds/dreamingeternally, https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalawhisperer/pseuds/koalawhisperer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock Holmes is five years old and in need of a friend. One night, he decides to wish upon a star. That's something that people do, right? What he finds may just be exactly what he wishes for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When You Wish Upon a Star...

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the fantastic AU created by shootbadcabbies on Tumblr. My friend dreamingeternally on Tumblr and I brainstormed this, and this is what happened! She writes Sherlock, I write John. :)

Sherlock Holmes was five years old. He was standing up on his bed and gazing out the window, staring in awe at the stars in the night sky. He'd heard on the telly that if you made a wish on a star, then it would come true. He didn't believe it; of course he didn't. It made no sense. But... But he was feeling rather lonely. None of the kids at school liked him very much. All he wanted was a friend. Just one. Perhaps... perhaps making just one wish... it couldn't hurt, right? Sherlock closed his eyes and wished with all his heart.

"Please, please star, give me a friend, just one," he whispered. He opened his eyes and looked up at the stars hopefully, searching for some sign that his wish was heard. His eyes widened when he saw something, something that looked like a falling star. A streak of light. And it looked like it was going to land in his backyard. He gasped and quickly got down from his bed, putting on his shoes and grabbing a flashlight before hurrying outside. He went out into his backyard, trying to find whatever it was that had fallen from the sky. It was a bit scary out here at night, but he was familiar with his surroundings. Something caught his eye, something... glowing. Sherlock approached it carefully, gasping when he found... a boy.

John Watson was a young star, what humans would consider a child of around six years old. He knew that one day, maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe later, that a human would wish on a star and he'd fall to Earth to grant the wish. That was what happened with every star, after all. When a human, usually a child, wished very hard, their wish would come true. So John spent his days playing amongst the clouds during the day and sleeping on the clouds at night. One particular night found him doing just that, glowing softly in the sky as he slumbered. And then...oh! John's eyes shot wide open as his glow began to brighten and a warmth spread over his small body. Oh, this was it! He was being summoned to grant a wish. Excited to meet his summoner, John plummeted through the clouds, appearing as what humans would call a shooting star. He grew brighter and brighter, leaving a trail of golden sparkles in his wake. He landed with a thud, closing his eyes as he waited for what had found him. Eventually, John felt something bright on him, so he opened his eyes and gasped. He was face to face with a curly-haired human boy that looked to be about his age. John sat up on his heels and looked at the new boy, glowing softly in the night. So this was who had wished on him! He slid a little closer, putting them nose-to-nose. He giggled softly as the boy's face got a golden glow, eyes also glowing as he felt a rather strong excitement spread over him. John placed a tiny peck of a kiss to his new friend's nose, blushing furiously as he settled back onto his haunches.

Sherlock's eyes widened when the boy, who looked to be around his age, opened his eyes and saw him. He wasn't afraid, though; he was... fascinated. The boy was unclothed, and his skin was glowing and sparkling, and he was radiating a soft yellow glow. His hair was short and blond, and his eyes were brown, or perhaps dark blue, he couldn't tell at this distance. He gave a small smile when he realized that the boy was looking at him and studying him, too. His breath caught in his throat and he felt his cheeks warm when the boy slid closer, and he grinned when their noses touched and the boy let out a giggle that was almost musical. Oh, that was beautiful, and Sherlock felt a spark of excitement. His eyes widened again when the boy kissed his nose, and his blush deepened. He stared at the boy in wonder and awe when he fell back onto his haunches. Sherlock cautiously leaned forward onto his knees and crawled forward again, approaching the boy.

"Did you come to grant my wish?" he asked quietly. 

John tilted his head slightly as he continued to study the human before him. He was about his age with a head full of black curls and bright, wide blue eyes. He'd thought they were brown, but John's soft glow had revealed them to be blue. He clutched a flashlight along with a toy bee. The boy wasnt scared. No, he looked interested, which was good because stars didn't hurt people. They were good. They helped. This little boy had wished for a friend, and John was here for just that. He was going to be a friend. John's eyes glowed a bit as the boy approached -- they did that when he was feeling a particularly strong emotion, and he was quite excited -- and he nodded to answer the question.

"Yes," John said softly, excitement evident in his voice. "You wished for a friend, and, and, now I'm here!"

Sherlock's eyes widened in fascination when he saw that they boy's eyes began to _glow_ , just like the rest of him. That was amazing; he wondered why they did that. Sherlock's eyes lit up when the boy spoke. It had worked! He'd wished on a star, and it worked! He had a friend! Sherlock grinned widely, feeling so happy and excited that he thought he might burst.

"Wow, that's amazing," he breathed. "I'm Sherlock, what's your name? Your eyes were glowing a few moments ago, why do they do that? Are you a star? How did you know what my wish was?"

Sherlock couldn't stop himself as the jumble of questions tumbled from his lips; he couldn't help it, this was all so fascinating, and he just wanted to understand it all. 

John's eyes glowed a brighter blue as the other boy's lit up. He was so excited and happy! He was granting a wish, he was going to help this little boy and be his friend! He couldn't help but smile as widely and brightly as he could as the little boy spoke, giggling softly at how eager he was and how many questions he had. A shower of sparkles glittered around him as he giggled, falling and fading as he stopped.

"Hi, Sh...Sherlock," John said happily, testing out the new name. "I'm John. A - a star! Yeah! I knew what your wish was cause I heard! And my eyes glow when I feel a lot of stuff. Like now, I'm really happy and excited that I'm gonna be your friend and stuff!" John beamed widely at Sherlock, eyeing the stuffed bee beneath his arm and pointing at it. "What's that?" He had toys up in the sky, but they were made from the clouds. He'd never seen something like that.

Sherlock's eyes widened in amazement when the boy's eyes glowed even brighter, and he felt so entirely and completely _happy_ as the boy smiled at him so widely and brightly. Wow, he didn't think anyone could ever be so happy to see him. He grinned and watched in amazement as the boy giggled and caused a shower of sparkles around him. That was _amazing_. He hoped he could make the boy laugh more so he could see that again. Sherlock felt his heart warm when the boy spoke his name, and he smiled when he learned the boy's name. John. He felt another wave of happiness when John told him he was excited to be his friend and beamed at him so widely. Sherlock looked down when John asked about his bee, and he held it out so John could hold it.

"It's a bee," he explained. "It's called a stuffed animal; it's made of cloth and stuff and has cotton inside, I think. It's very soft."

John listened as Sherlock explained his toy. He too had toys, all star children did, but they didn't look like this! He took the small toy and examined it, poking at it with one finger and grinning when it bounced back. He hugged it close and felt his heart warm, Sherlock was right! It was very soft. He hugged it happily, humming softly as he did. John held it out again after a few moments and poked at one of the antennae, giggling and causing another shower of sparkles as it swung back and forth.

"Bee," John said. "It looks nice." He thought for a few moments. "I have toys too!" He found fog overhead and reached his hand into it, pulling it back to reveal a toy hedgehog made of the clouds. It was a sapphire blue colour to match the night sky, shimmering slightly with his stardust. "See? It's made of clouds!"

Sherlock giggled softly as John examined his toy and poked it. He beamed when John hugged it and seemed to find comfort in it. That was exactly what he felt when he hugged it, too. He took it back when John held it out, and he grinned when John giggled again. He nodded and smiled softly when John spoke. His eyes lit up when John said that he had toys, too, and he watched in amazement as he reached up and pulled out a cloud hedgehog.

"Wow," he breathed, his eyes wide in fascination. He leaned in a bit closer so he could study the toy; it was such a beautiful, sapphire blue, and it sparkled and glowed, just like John. He didn't dare touch it, afraid that if he did, it would dissipate and vanish. 

John grinned when Sherlock's eyes lit up, and he too lit up as Sherlock watched in amazement. He had to remember that Sherlock was a human, that Sherlock had toys made of cotton and stuff instead of clouds. He'd probably never seen anyone do that before! Oh, John had lots of things to show Sherlock. Like his footprints, and the way he floated a bit when he slept, and, and, there was just so much! He was a very excited little star. John beamed as Sherlock studied the toy, almost as though he were some sort of detective and he'd found a clue or something. He could sense that Sherlock was a bit nervous to touch it. He wanted to see what would happen, but at the same time, he didn't want to lose it. It was his favourite toy; he slept with it every night. Perhaps he could play with it when Sherlock had to go somewhere that John couldn't go or something. That happened, right?

"I don't know what'd happen if you hugged it," he admitted, putting the little hedgehog beside him for the time being and studying it curiously. "But it seems to be okay by me, and this isn't made of clouds, I don't think...so maybe you can!"

Sherlock smiled warmly as he watched John glow even brighter. Oh, he must be very excited. He bit his lip when John spoke, and he nodded understandingly.

"Oh, I better not," he said quietly. "I don't want to break it or anything. It's okay; I'm fine with just looking at it. It's quite beautiful." He gave a small smile as he leaned down and continued to study it. He sighed softly and sat up after a while, glancing up at the sky. "That's where you came from. Right up... there," he said, pointing up at the sky. "You're not hurt, are you? You seemed to be falling really fast." 

"Okay," John said, picking up his toy and hugging it close, giving it a yellowish hue as well as its sapphire one.

He put it down so Sherlock could continue to study it, smiling as he saw how interested and curious his new friend was. He couldn't even begin to imagine all of the adventures and fun things they'd do together, but he couldn't wait to find out. John looked up when Sherlock pointed at the sky, eyes widening in surprise.

"Wow..." John murmured, looking up at the other twinkling stars. "I fell from up there? That's really far..." John barely remembered his fall. He only remembered glowing a bit more, waking up, and slipping out of his cloud before waking up again on the solid ground. He continued to gaze at the sky for a few moments before shaking his head. "But I'm not hurt. I'm okay."

Sherlock nodded when John spoke. "Yeah, it is. You were falling, and there was a streak of light. I think people call it a shooting star. It was really pretty." Sherlock gazed at John softly as John continued to look at the sky. He let out a sigh of relief when John confirmed that he was okay, and he smiled. "Good. Come on," he said excitedly. "Let's go inside; you must be cold. I can't wait to show you my room. Oh, but we better be quiet; don't want to wake anyone up. Can other people see you? I hope so; I want to show you to Mycroft tomorrow. Mycroft's my older brother."

John listened as Sherlock spoke, eyes wide with awe as the little boy explained what had happened. "Wow!" he said brightly. "I was - was pretty?"

He felt a faint blush spread across his cheeks at the compliment, and he gave Sherlock a shy sort of smile, blinking demurely at him before looking back up at his former home. He had a new home now, as lovely as the sky was, and he couldn't wait to explore it. He smiled when Sherlock sighed in relief, and it widened into a beam when Sherlock spoke so excitedly. Oh, he loved how excitable Sherlock was; it reminded him of himself. Everything about this new world fascinated John, from the ground he was curled up on to the house looming in the distance and everything inbetween. There was so much to learn!

"I am a little cold, yeah," John said softly, shivering a bit. His glow was warm, but there was still a chill in the night air. "And I can't wait to see your room! I bet it's got lots of cool stuff in it, lots of toys!" John stood up and dusted himself off, waiting for Sherlock to stand and tilting his head at the new name. "My...croft. Mycroft," he said, giggling softly. "That's a funny name! And I think other people can see me. I don't know, I've only been around you so far." 

Sherlock's eyes widened when John blushed in reaction to his compliment, and he nodded. "Yes, you were. Beautiful."

He beamed when John smiled so shyly at him, feeling rather pleased that his compliment had had such an effect on the other boy. He'd always thought he wasn't good at making friends, but perhaps he was wrong about himself. Sherlock sped up a bit when John said he was cold, making sure he had his flashlight and his bee as he stood up and they walked back to the house. He grinned when John expressed excitement about seeing his room, and he nodded.

"Mmhm, I've got lots of toys; not all of them are toys like this, though," he said, indicating his bee. "My favorite toys are my books. And I've also got Mycroft's old chemical set and microscope. Oh! And I have a violin!" Sherlock grinned and giggled at John's reaction to Mycroft's name, his heart warming when he saw those beautiful glittering gold sparkles as the boy giggled. "Hmm, well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow." Sherlock opened the door and held it open for John, then lead the way over to his room. He closed the door quietly behind them before beaming at John. "What do you think?" he whispered.

John stayed next to Sherlock as they made their way to the house, feet leaving little glittery footprints in the grass behind him. He listened intently as Sherlock began to describe all of his toys, nodding to show that he understood.

"Oh!" John said delightedly when Sherlock said that he had a violin. "Do you make pretty stuff with that? Pretty sounds? And yeah! I'll find out tomorrow when I meet M...Mycroft." John was still having a bit of difficulty with Sherlock's brother's name, but he knew he would get it. "Is he as nice as you?" he asked as he made his way into Sherlock's house, soft glow creating a light for both of them as they walked towards the boy's bedroom. John beamed back at Sherlock before looking around, marvelling at all of the books that lined the shelves and walls, as well as all of Sherlock's other toys. "I like it!" he said happily, making sure to be quiet. "Where...uh, where am I gonna sleep?" He thought for a few moments. "Oh, uh, and I do something when I sleep...I...I sort of float..."

Sherlock glanced back at John and beamed as they walked, his eyes lighting up when he saw that John left behind glittery footprints. That was amazing; he'd have to study that in detail sometime. Sherlock grinned widely when John sounded so excited to hear about his violin. He nodded at John's question and smiled warmly.

"Mmhm, yeah, I can play songs on it; I'm not as good as my mum, though. She's the one teaching me. But I'm getting better every day." Sherlock giggled softly as John tried to say Mycroft's name. His eyes widened a bit at John's question. Oh. That meant John thought he was nice! Wow... Somebody thought he was nice. "Um, he's... he's nice in his own way, I guess."

He smiled as John's glow guided them through the dark house; he didn't even need to use his flashlight. His chest filled up with happiness when John told him he liked his room. He bit his lip at John's question. "Oh. I hadn't thought about that. My bed is pretty big, I'm sure we can both fit." Sherlock's eyes lit up when John spoke. "Wow, that's amazing! I hope I get to see it." He smiled and went over to his dresser, digging out an extra set of pajamas. "Here, you can wear these it you want," he offered. He climbed up onto his bed and waited for John to finish putting on clothes so he could help the other boy up onto the bed.

John tilted his head slightly as Sherlock bit his lip in response to his question. He made to offer to sleep on the rather large bay window across from Sherlock's bed. He wasn't very big; he was smaller than Sherlock, so it would certainly fit him, and it looked comfortable. He made to go over to it, but then Sherlock replied. Oh, now that was great! He could certainly share a bed with his new friend, and maybe he'd get to see John float, too!

"Yeah, me too!" John whispered happily, waiting patiently as Sherlock dug him out something to wear. "Okay," he said as he took the pyjamas, quietly thanking Sherlock. He slipped into them and hummed softly; they were very comfortable, and they kept out the chill. He'd have to find clothes now that he was on Earth, it seemed, both because humans wore them and they kept him warm. John took Sherlock's hand and climbed up onto the bed, curling slightly as he found a comfortable place. It wasn't a cloud, but it was still very soft and comfortable. Yawning softly, John folded his arms beneath his head and closed his eyes, sighing contentedly as he began to drift off to sleep.

Sherlock smiled when he saw that his clothes seemed to fit John. He'd have to help John get some clothes of his own. He watched as John curled up in his bed, and he carefully tucked his blanket over the both of them, making sure that his new friend was warm and comfortable. He smiled as he saw how peaceful John looked. He was barely glowing at all now, as he drifted off to sleep. Sherlock laid down and curled up on his side, clutching his stuffed bee to his chest and closing his eyes as he, too, started to fall asleep. 

John was barely aware of Sherlock tucking the blanket around him, he was so tired. Falling took a lot of energy from a star, especially for one as young as John. His glow faded as he drifted into slumber, barely illuminating the room as it had before. John blinked himself awake after about an hour of sleep, smiling as he saw his new friend looking peaceful as he slept, toy bee clutched to his chest. Yawning quietly, John curled up again, using his arms as a pillow as he gently rose about six inches into the air.

Sherlock woke up once in the middle of the night, startling a bit when he realized he wasn't alone in his bed, but then relaxing when he remembered what had happened last night. His new friend. John. Sherlock closed his eyes again and hugged his bee, before his eyes flew open again when he realized something was different. John was... floating! It was just a few inches off the bed, but still! That was amazing! Sherlock peeked up at John and giggled softly to himself before cuddling close to his bee and falling asleep again. 


	2. Morning Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock and John wake up the next morning, and Sherlock begins to try to teach John about life on Earth.

Sherlock slept peacefully the rest of the night, and he blinked himself awake the next morning when the sunlight from his window woke him up. That and... oh. John's light! Sherlock grinned when he opened his eyes and found his new friend by his side, laying down next to him and waiting for him to wake up. He giggled quietly before yawning widely and stretching, and then sitting up.

"Did you sleep okay last night?" Sherlock asked, hugging his bee as he looked over at the other boy.

John blinked himself awake when he felt Sherlock stirring next to him, yawning quietly and stretching as he too sat up, pulling his knees in close to his little body. 

"Mmhm," John said happily, wishing he had his toy hedgehog to cuddle. He'd forgotten to get it when he'd gone into Sherlock's house, and there wasn't any sky inside the bedroom. He'd have to get some toys of his own so he wouldn't have to go outside to get them. "I slept good. What about you?"

"Good," Sherlock replied. "I did wake up once, though, and you were right! You were floating! It was incredible; can you only do that when you're sleeping, or... can you fly?" he asked, his eyes lighting up at the thought. Sherlock noticed that John looked kind of lonely without his toy; he must've forgotten it outside. Or maybe he couldn't bring it inside. He got down from his bed and went over to his closet, trying to find something that John might like. He finally found one--a turtle--and hurried back to John, holding it out to him. "I know it's not as great as yours, but he can still keep you company."

John's eyes lit up when Sherlock said that he'd seen him floating during the night, shaking his head at the idea of flying. "I don't think I can do that," he said softly, wiggling his toes against the bed sheets. 

John tilted his head to the side when Sherlock suddenly got off the bed and padded to his closer. What was he doing? Getting dressed? No, it seemed Sherlock had noticed that John was missing his hedgehog. Did Sherlock have one? John hummed as Sherlock brought back a toy. A turtle. John took the turtle and hugged it close, closing his eyes and beaming widely. "I like it!" he said happily. "Thank you."

Sherlock beamed and his eyes lit up when John said he liked the stuffed turtle. "You're welcome," he said happily, climbing back onto the bed.

He stood up on his bed after a moment and waved John over to the window. "This is where I made my wish yesterday," he told John. "I can show you again tonight, when we can see the stars out." He plopped down on his bed again after a while, and he sat next to John as they both clutched their toys. "Do you have a last name, John?" he asked curiously, smiling over at the other boy. 

John hugged the turtle close, nuzzling against its green fabric and humming happily as he sat with Sherlock on the bed. He liked his new friend; it was soft and squishy, just like Sherlock's bee. He opened his eyes when he felt the bed get lighter, nodding and sliding off the bed to go to Sherlock. 

"Wow..." John said, looking up at the sky in awe and then back down at the bay window. "I, uh, I was gonna sleep here last night until you let me use your bed." John padded back to the bed, following Sherlock up onto it again and cuddling with his turtle as the glittery footprints faded. He pondered over Sherlock's question, lighting up a bit when he realised the answer. 

"Yeah! It's Watson. John Watson. What about you?"

Sherlock smiled as he watched John look up in the sky in awe, and he frowned slightly when John spoke. "Oh, you don't have to do that," he said quietly. "We're friends now, and that means we should never be apart." Sherlock smiled when he saw John cuddling with his turtle, glad that he seemed to like his new toy. He beamed when John answered his question, and he tried it out. "John... Watson," he said softly. "I like it." He smiled warmly. "Mine's Holmes. Sherlock Holmes."

John felt his heart sink when Sherlock frowned, and his glow dimmed a bit. He didn't like to see friends unhappy; it made him unhappy too. He listed as Sherlock spoke, lighting up proverbially and literally. "Okay," John said softly. "I won't go away then, because I'll always be your friend!" John continued to cuddle and cradle his turtle as Sherlock smiled, loosening the hug a bit when his friend beamed. John beamed happily when Sherlock tried his name out and approved of it, humming thoughtfully at his friend's name. "Sherlock...Holmes," John said slowly, also testing the new name. "I like your name, too."

Sherlock's heart sank when he saw John's glow dim, but his face lit up again when John spoke. "Good," he said, his lips stretching into a beam. He grinned happily after he said John's name a few times, feeling very pleased that he had a friend now. He felt his heart warm when John spoke his name, and he nodded. He grinned widely when John told him that he liked his name. "Lots of people think it's strange. But I like it, and I won't ever change it." Sherlock smiled at John for a few moments before crawling over to the side of his bed so he could see his clock. "Mycroft won't be awake for another half hour. What do you want to do until then?"

John hummed thoughtfully when Sherlock asked him what he wanted to do. He was new on Earth, so he wasn't sure what all there was to do. He looked around Sherlock's room, as if that would help him figure out something to do. "Um..." John murmured, suddenly becoming a bit shy. He didn't want to choose the wrong thing, what if he chose something that Sherlock didn't like to do? 

"Maybe, um, maybe we could look at some more of your toys? I've only seen the ones I have in the sky, so these are, uh, in - interesting..." John chewed nervously at his lower lip, hoping that Sherlock would agree with his idea. 

Sherlock's eyes widened a bit when the other boy suddenly became shy and nervous. Had he done something wrong? He didn't want John to feel that way. He nodded encouragingly at John's suggestion, and he gave John a small smile. 

"That's a good idea." He climbed off the bed and helped John down as well, taking his hand and leading him over to his chest of toys. Sherlock opened it up and got his toys out to show John. "These are toy pirate swords, and this is my eyepatch and pirate hat. I like pirates, and I wanna be one when I grow up." He rummaged around in his chest and pulled out a few more things. "These are some board games that I like to play with Mycroft sometimes. Operation and Cluedo are fun. I also have chess." Sherlock peeked over at the other boy, hoping that this was making him less nervous. 

John followed Sherlock off the bed, feeling much more reassured now that Sherlock had approved of his idea. That was all he wanted, to make Sherlock happy; on top of that, it was his primary reason for falling. John's glow brightened a bit as Sherlock held his hand and took him over to small chest beneath the wall. John settled back onto his calves again as Sherlock pulled out toy after toy, eyes widening in delight. 

"You'll be an awesome pirate!" John said happily, picking up the toy sword and waving it around with a giggle. As soon as Sherlock put the pirate things aside, John grabbed the hat and jammed it onto his head, beaming proudly at Sherlock. "I like these!" he said delightedly, still waving his sword. "They're fun! And...what's Operation? And Cluedo?" John was obviously less nervous, given the string of questions he'd just asked.

Sherlock gave a warm smile when he noticed John's glow brightening. His face lit up and his chest filled with happiness when he saw how excited John was at the mention of pirates. He couldn't help but grin when John told him he'd be a good pirate. He giggled softly when John waved his sword around. Oh, and when John put the hat on... Sherlock was so glad that John was enjoying this. That he'd have somebody to play pirates with him. Mycroft did sometimes, but he wasn't very cooperative. Or imaginative. Sherlock knew John would be. Sherlock smiled when John started to ask questions, and he sat down next to him as he showed John the games and started to explain them. 

"Operation is when you pretend to be a doctor and do surgery on this person. Cluedo is when you pretend to be a detective and solve murders. You'll see when we play them." 

John looked down at Sherlock's games, watching with wide, curious eyes, as though this were the most fascinating thing in the world. Which, to the little star, it was. He'd never played any sort of human game, so he was very interested to learn all about them. He lit up when Sherlock mentioned pretending to be a doctor. He liked the idea of being a doctor because doctors helped people and John was good at helping people. Being a detective sounded fun too! Oh, there was so much fun to be had here with Sherlock; John couldn't help but beam. 

"I can't wait to play them!" John said happily, bouncing slightly on his calves. "They both sound really fun. All of this..." John waved his hand at all of Sherlock's toys and games. "...sounds really fun! Oh! Maybe, maybe when everyone is awake you can play your violin for me!"

Sherlock's eyes lit up when he saw how attentive and curious John was; he was so glad that John was finding this all so interesting. He had been a bit worried that John would be bored; there must have been much more interesting things to do up in the sky. But thankfully, John appeared to be far from bored. Sherlock grinned when John voiced his excitement, and he felt excitement building in his own chest as he imagined all the fun he would have with John. His eyes lit up when John mentioned his violin, and he nodded eagerly.

"I'd love to. Come on, I can show you what it looks like." Sherlock led John over to the other side of the room and knelt down to open up his violin case. He took it out and showed it to John, beaming at John's reaction.

"Okay!" John said happily, following Sherlock over to the other side of the bedroom. He knelt next to Sherlock and waited on bated breath as the little boy opened the rectangular-shaped case. His eyes lit up when he saw the beautiful instrument. It was so shiny! "It's really pretty!" he said delightedly, lightly running his hand over the varnished wood and admiring the way his glow reflected off it. He'd never seen something like this before. "Can...can I hold it?" he asked softly. "I won't break it, promise..."

Sherlock's eyes lit up when John spoke, and he beamed. He thought the instrument was beautiful as well, and he was glad that John shared his opinion. He smiled softly as John touched it so carefully, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw how beautifully John's glow reflected off of it. "Oh, yes, of course you can," Sherlock replied, carefully placing the violin into the other boy's hands. He smiled at the adoration in John's eyes as he touched the instrument. That had been Sherlock's exact reaction when he was first given the violin. 

"Yay!" John said happily. He carefully cradled the instrument in his arms, as though he were holding a puppy or a kitten. He really didn't want to break it, so he was extra-careful. "Wow..." John breathed, awestruck, as he gazed down at the instrument. He hesitantly reached up and plucked the third string, eyes glowing a bit at the bright, ringing sound. He didn't know what note that was, but he liked it! John plucked the same string, turning to Sherlock and beaming excitedly. "It does make pretty sounds!" 

Sherlock smiled at how careful John was being with his violin. "Don't worry, you won't break it," he said reassuringly. His breath caught in his throat when he saw how absolutely awestruck John was. His eyes lit up and his lips stretched into a smile when John plucked one of the strings and elicited a sound. He grinned when John turned to him so excitedly and he giggled quietly. "It can make a lot more sounds than that; I can't wait to play it for you." 

John beamed at Sherlock's reaction to the sound. He really liked Sherlock's smile; it was sort of crooked, and it made his eyes light up. John's heart warmed when Sherlock giggled, and he couldn't help but giggle himself, the laugh was so contagious. "Really?" the little star asked as the sparkles from his giggles faded into the air. "I bet they're pretty too! I bet you can make it sound really pretty." John plucked at a string that looked thicker, making a soft 'oh!' sound when he got a lower sound.

Sherlock's heart soared when John joined in on his giggling. Wow, it was so nice to have a friend, to have someone to laugh with. He felt so happy. And the way sparkles fell around John as he laughed was so beautiful. He beamed proudly when John spoke; John hadn't even heard him play yet, and yet he was sure that Sherlock was good. Sherlock smiled when John plucked at another string, and he let out another giggle at John's surprise. 

"That was a G," he explained, shifting closer to he could point the strings out to John. "And that's a D, A, and E, if you're playing the open strings and not holding your finger down anywhere."

John liked the lower sound almost as much as he did the higher ones. He listened as Sherlock pointed out the strings and named them, nodding to show that he understood. John plucked each string individually, naming them. "G...D...A...E..." he said thoughtfully. His eyes lit up when he heard the high, bright sound of the E string. Sherlock had said that he could make other sounds with his fingers held down. He curved his left hand over the fingerboard, pressing one finger down on the D string and plucking with his right hand. He looked eagerly at Sherlock, eyes glowing because he was so excited. "I made a new sound!" he said happily.

Sherlock smiled warmly as John identified each of the notes, glad that John seemed to genuinely enjoy learning about all of this. His heart soared when John's eyes lit up in reaction to the E string, and he couldn't help but giggle quietly. He watched as John pressed his finger on the D string and played a new note; he seemed to be getting all of this rather quickly. He beamed happily when John looked at him so eagerly and when his eyes started to glow. He nodded encouragingly when John spoke and grinned. "You did!"

John's eyes lit up when Sherlock beamed at him so happily. Oh, he loved making Sherlock happy. It meant that he was doing this friendship thing correctly, not to mention Sherlock had a really pretty smile. His beam only widened when Sherlock nodded so encouragingly and grinned at him. "Yay!" John said delightedly, eyes becoming a brighter blue. "I like this sound too!" He plucked the string again and again, in no particular rhythm. "Does it have a name like the strings do?"

Sherlock laughed as John plucked the string over and over, his heart swelling with happiness. This was _fun_ , and it made him even happier to know that John was enjoying himself too. Sherlock leaned in closer when John asked about which note it was, looking to see where John's finger was. "That one's an F sharp," Sherlock explained. "That means the pitch is between an F and a G. I can teach you about scales and stuff on the piano downstairs; it's easier to explain there than on a violin." 

"F-sharp," John said, testing the new name. It sounded funny. He'd heard the letter F, of course, but he had no idea what a sharp was as far as sound went. But Sherlock said that it was between F and G. Was sharp a letter? Or a sound? Hmm. There was a lot to learn, and he couldn't wait to learn it. His eyes lit up when Sherlock mentioned a piano. "I can't wait to learn about it, it all sounds really fun!" he said happily, carefully sliding his finger further down the fingerboard and plucking again, this time getting a higher sound. "G?" he guessed. It was higher than F-sharp, so that was probably it!

Sherlock nodded when John spoke, knowing his explanation probably didn't make much sense unless he had it written down and explained all the notes. But they'd get there eventually. His heart soared at how excited John was to learn new things; he shared that same excitement. He watched as John slid his finger along the fingerboard, and his chest swelled with pride when John identified the correct note. "Yes, good job!" he said happily. 

John's eyes brightened when Sherlock beamed and praised him. He couldn't help but bounce a bit, he was so excited. John adored learning new things and was very curious, after all. John stopped bouncing and resumed his study, putting hi first finger down on the A string and plucking. "What's that?" the little star asked. "And...how do you play songs if you only use one finger at a time?"

Sherlock giggled quietly again when John bounced excitedly. He watched patiently as John played another note, and he smiled. "That's a B," he said. "You can play simple songs if you only use one finger, but once you get better, and once your hands grow bigger, then you can use more than one finger at a time."

"B," John said, plucking the string again as he turned and looked at the toy bee sitting on Sherlock's bed. "Like your bee!" he said happily. He tried to put two fingers on the fingerboard, trying to stretch his middle finger to where it had been for the sound Sherlock called 'F sharp'. He tried his hardest, sighing when he didn't get it. "Guess my hands aren't big enough..." John said softly.

Sherlock grinned and nodded when John mentioned his bee, feeling rather happy that John's first thought was something that related to him. He gave a sympathetic look when John tried to stretch his fingers. "It's alright, mine aren't either," he said. "They will be soon, though, so don't worry. Why don't you try these two?" Sherlock suggested, leaning in and pointing to two notes that were closer together--F# on the E string and B on the A string.

"Okay," John said softly, glow brightening at Sherlock's encouragement. John placed his finger where Sherlock pointed on the E string, plucking it and making an 'oh!' sort of sound. This one was high, higher than any sound John had ever heard on the violin. He plucked it again, rather enjoying the higher sound. It made him think of th e sky, in a way, because the sky was really high up, and so was this sound. "I really like that one!" John said happily, beaming at Sherlock. 

Sherlock beamed and his face lit up when John seemed to like that note. He smiled and felt his heart warm when John spoke, making sure to remember that information for future reference. His mother always composed songs, and Sherlock was hoping that he would be able to, too, someday. And when he did, he wanted to compose something for John.

"If you slide your finger down this way, you can play even higher notes," Sherlock suggested. 

John listened to what Sherlock said, nodding as he began to move his finger further down the fingerboard, plucking it each time his finger moved. Oh, it got higher and higher each time! John really liked that. "Oh!" he said happily. "That's pretty too. But I don't really like the squeaky ones." He placed his finger at the very end of the fingerboard and plucked, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "I'll try some of the other strings." John moved over to the G string and placed his finger on the first part of the string, where he played F-sharp on the E string, plucking it. It was really low! "I like all these sounds!" John said delightedly, happy that he was learning something new with his friend. 

Sherlock giggled softly and watched in delight as John moved his finger up and played every single note. He laughed again when John wrinkled his nose; his face looked funny when he did that. He nodded encouragingly when John tried the other strings. His heart soared when John spoke; oh, his chest filled with joy to know that John was enjoying all of this. He caught a glimpse of his clock, and his eyes lit up when he saw what time it was. 

"Mycroft should be awake now," he said. "Would you like to go meet him?"


	3. Shining Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock introduces John to Mycroft and his toys, and John gets an up-close and personal look with his stardust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that's read, bookmarked, subscribed, given kudos, all of it! You guys are fantastic :) I honestly didn't expect this to get 10 hits, so seeing 300+ is fantastic! <3 Also, I wrote Mycroft.

John put the violin back in its case, figuring he could play more later. They did have all day together, after all. And all day tomorrow, and the next day...oh, John and Sherlock had a really long time together! John beamed when Sherlock's eyes lit up, eyes glowing brightly when Sherlock mentioned meeting his brother.

"Yeah!" John said eagerly, standing up and brushing his pyjamas off. "Where does he sleep?" He couldn't wait to meet Sherlock's family, especially if they were all like Sherlock. He grabbed his turtle and padded to the door, waiting for Sherlock to lead him to Mycroft's room.

Sherlock beamed proudly as John put his violin back in its case so carefully. Oh, he couldn't wait to teach John more of what he knew. And they had so much time ahead of them to do just that. Sherlock grinned when he saw John's eyes glow; he'd never not be fascinated by that.

"His room is right next door," Sherlock said, smiling when John took his turtle with him. Sherlock stood and opened the door, quietly leading the way over to Mycroft's room. He knocked quietly on the door and waited patiently for it to open. 

"Okay!" John said, tightly clutching his toy turtle in his hand. He hoped Mycroft was like Sherlock and that Mycroft would be his friend too. He was a bit nervous because he didn't know much about Mycroft. John followed Sherlock out of the room and next door, waiting patiently for it to open. What he saw when it opened was not what he expected. Mycroft was a big kid, lots taller than Sherlock and himself. He had spots all over his skin the likes of which John had never seen, and his hair wasn't at all curly. John chewed nervously at his lower lip, waiting for Mycroft to speak. 

"Good morning, Sherlock," Mycroft yawned, blinking down at John. "A - and who, may I ask, is this? He can't be a person, people don't glow." 

John cast his eyes downward, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed of his glow. Mycroft didn't like it. Mycroft thought it was weird. 

Sherlock immediately tensed up a bit and felt defensiveness course through him when Mycroft spoke. "Good morning, Mycroft," he said calmly. "This is John. John Watson. He's my friend. I found him last night in our backyard." He paused for a moment, not entirely sure what to say next. He told himself that he shouldn't be afraid to ask for help; Mycroft was older than him, and he would know what to do. 

"Can he stay here?" he asked quietly. "Please?" He glanced back at John, suddenly afraid of what might happen if John wasn't allowed to stay here with him. 

Mycroft was, of course, a protective big brother. He looked out for Sherlock and ensured that nothing harmful happened to him. And this...whatever John was, it wasn't normal. But at the same time, Sherlock did look happy, and John didn't seem harmful. He was a little boy...that Sherlock found in the backyard. Mycroft was a bit torn. The situation was strange, but...Sherlock's happiness won.

"He doesn't s-seem harmful," Mycroft yawned. "He can stay. But I must ask, what was he doing in the garden, and why is he glowing? This is all rather strange. 

Sherlock bit his lip. This _was_ all rather strange, and if he told Mycroft, he might not believe him. But he had to. He needed at least one person who knew the truth, who would be able to help him. He glanced back at John and gave a small smile. "Go on," he said quietly. "You can tell him." 

John trembled slightly as he gathered the courage to speak. Mycroft wasn't scary, but maybe big kids didn't believe in falling stars. He had to do it. If he was going to stay, Mycroft had to know. "Uh. I - I'm a star. A fallen star. I - Sherlock wished on a star for a friend, and, and...I fell. I fell so I could be Sherlock's friend..." John chewed at his lower lip, looking hopefully at Mycroft. 

 "A fallen star," Mycroft said. "Your glow is because you are a star. And you fell into the garden to give my brother a friend." Mycroft turned to Sherlock. "Sherlock, is all of this true?"

Sherlock gave a small encouraging smile when he noticed that John seemed to be nervous. He'd have to tell John later that he didn't have to be afraid. He looked back at Mycroft when he spoke, and he nodded. "Yes, it is," he confirmed. "I know it seems... unbelievable. But John is real, and he has nowhere else to go. You have to help us. Do you think mummy and daddy with let him stay?"

Mycroft listened as Sherlock spoke, confirming what John said. But it was too surreal. Stars didn't fall from the sky and become human boys. Why else would John have that glow, though? It was the only logical explanation, as illogical as it was. He sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair.

"Alright," Mycroft sighed. "I'll help. He can't exactly...return to the sky." The older boy shook his head in disbelief. "Mummy and Daddy may let him stay."

Sherlock's face lit up when Mycroft said he'd help, and he turned to grin at John. Now the chances of John being allowed to stay were much higher. Oh, he was so glad! He and John would be friends forever and ever! "What should we do?" Sherlock asked his brother. "What are we going to say?"

John's eyes glowed bright blue when Mycroft said that he would help. Oh, this was fantastic! He would more than likely have a home, and he could be Sherlock's best friend forever! He bounced slightly on the balls of his feet as he waited for Mycroft's reply.

"Well," Mycroft said thoughtfully, eyes widening when he noticed John's eyes glowing bright blue. "We should tell them, obviously. And we say what the two of you told me. They'll see John's glow, I suppose they'll have to believe it."

Sherlock felt the strong urge to giggle when he saw the slightly alarmed expression on Mycroft's face; no doubt he saw John's eyes glowing. Sure enough, when Sherlock glanced over at John, his eyes were shining bright blue. He nodded when Mycroft spoke, knowing that he was right, but still a bit nervous for some reason. He just hoped that his parents would believe them, that John would be alright. "Perhaps you should go first, give them some warning. Is breakfast soon?"

Mycroft listened as Sherlock spoke. He had a feeling that John would be alright; his parents had always wished that Sherlock had a friend his age instead of palling around with Mycroft as much as he did. "That's a good idea," he said in agreement. "I daresay something like this would be rather alarming." He cast an apologetic look in John's direction. "Nothing against you, John." 

 John shook his head. "I - I get it", he said nervously. "I'm not mad." He was still nervous around Mycroft; Sherlock's older brother was so much bigger than he was. And he wasn't quite as nice.

Mycroft turned back to Sherlock. "Breakfast is in about half an hour," he added. 

Sherlock's brow furrowed a bit when he heard how nervous John sounded. He nodded when Mycroft spoke, and he gave a small, grateful smile. "We'll be down in thirty-five, then. Come on, John," he said, smiling gently at the other boy and taking his hand, leading him back to his bedroom. He closed the door behind them and felt his shoulders relax in relief. Everything would be alright now; they had Mycroft on their side. 

"John," Sherlock said quietly, turning to face his friend. "You don't have to be nervous around Mycroft. I know he can be scary sometimes, but... he really does care about me. And since you're my friend now, that means he cares about you, too."

John gave Mycroft a small smile as he followed Sherlock to his room, tightly holding his friend's hand. He sighed with relief once he was back in Sherlock's room, clinging tightly to his stuffed turtle and making a soft sound. It would be okay. John would stay here with Sherlock. Mycroft would see to it. 

John looked up when Sherlock spoke, hiding half his face behind his turtle as he listened to his friend speak. He made another soft sound and nodded, lowering his turtle so Sherlock could hear him. "He is scary," John agreed, hugging his turtle again. "So much bigger than me. But...I - I trust you. You say I don't have to be scared around him, so okay. He'll...he'll make sure I stay here."

Sherlock smiled softly as John held his hand tightly, and he gave John's hand a reassuring squeeze. He didn't want his friend to be nervous, and he wanted to do everything he could to help. It seemed that giving John his stuffed turtle was helping in part; John certainly seemed comforted by it, and that made Sherlock glad. Sherlock nodded when John spoke. "He might be bigger than you now, but he was once as small as we are. He... He knows what it's like. He tries to be intimidating sometimes, but he's only pretending. He'll warm up to you, you'll see."

John listened as Sherlock spoke, feeling reassured by his friend's words. He relaxed his hold on his turtle, expression softening and muscles relaxing. "Really?" he said in disbelief. "Mycroft was as little as us? I can't see it..." John shook his head, smiling softly at Sherlock. "But okay. I'll try not to be as nervous around him at breakfast." John thought for a few moments, absently toeing the ground. "Um...what are your mummy and daddy like? Are they nice like you?"

Sherlock's face lit up when John relaxed and his expression softened. He giggled quietly when John spoke, and he nodded. "It's true. He was. There's pictures of him; I can show you." His heart warmed when John smiled at him, and he smiled back. "Yes, mummy and daddy are very nice; much nicer than Mycroft." Sherlock paused when John's words from before registered in his brain.

"You think I'm nice?" he asked softly, a small smile on his face. 

John giggled when Sherlock spoke. "Really? I wanna see the pictures!" he said happily. He couldn't imagine a little Mycroft, maybe because he'd only seen this one. John beamed when Sherlock said that his parents were nice, tilting his head a bit when the boy paused. That was a relief, knowing that Sherlock's parents were that way!

"Good," John said happily. "That means they'll probably let me stay! And yeah, you are! You let me share your bed, and you gave me these and my turtle, and you showed me your toys and let me play your violin...you're really nice!" John let his turtle fall to the floor as he padded over to Sherlock and wrapped his little arms around his friend, hugging him tightly and feeling a warmth spread over his glowing body.

Sherlock laughed quietly and nodded. "I'll show you some." Sherlock smiled softly and nodded when John spoke of his parents, and his eyes widened in surprise when John spoke of him and all the times he had been nice. Sherlock hadn't even meant to be nice; all he was thinking about was making sure that John was comfortable and happy, since that's what friends did, and Sherlock didn't want John to leave. Oh. He supposed he _had_ been nice. Sherlock's eyes widened when John came towards him and hugged him. Oh, this was different. Mycroft never hugged him, and his parents held him occasionally, but never like this, and he hugged his bee all the time, but his bee never hugged him back. Sherlock carefully wrapped his arms around his friend and hugged him back, feeling a warmth spread from his heart and out all the way to his toes.  

John liked hugging. It made him feel warm and tingly inside, and it made his heart seem to glow and swell. He hummed happily when Sherlock returned the hug, squeezing him gently and nuzzling his face against his friend's neck as his heart swelled and swelled. He pulled back from the hug after a few moments, beaming as he let go of Sherlock. "You give good hugs," John said softly, smiling at his friend.

Sherlock smiled and felt his heart warm when John squeezed him. Oh, this was wonderful; hugging made him so happy. Why hadn't he done this before? Perhaps because he hadn't had anyone to do it with, but now he did! He grinned at John when they pulled away, and his face lit up when John spoke. "You do, too," he said happily. He let out a soft sigh and looked around his room. "We've got half an hour; want me to show you the rest of my room?"

John beamed when Sherlock's eyes lit up and the other boy grinned at him. Oh, Sherlock thought he gave good hugs! That made John feel warm and fuzzy all over, which in turn made him a happy little star. He watched as Sherlock looked around his room, nodding eagerly at his question. "Yeah!" John said happily. "I wanna see it!"

Sherlock beamed at how eager John was. "Okay, let's start on this side," he said, indicating the side of the room to his right. "Here's my bookshelf." Sherlock sat down in front of it and motion for John to sit beside him. "These ones are my science books." Sherlock pulled a few of them out and opened them up for John to see. "We can read them together sometime." 

"Okay!" John said happily, following Sherlock to the right side of the room and leaving glittering footprints in his wake. His eyes lit up when he saw the bookshelf stacked full of books. John had liked to read when he as up in the sky; he'd had a bookshelf full of books too! Oh, that was wonderful that Sherlock liked to read. He sat down beside Sherlock and watched as he pulled out the science books, looking with fascination at all of the pictures and beaming when his friend offered to share them with him. "I'd like that," he said quietly, turning a few pages before looking up at the others. "What are the other ones?"

Sherlock's face lit up when John showed fascination to his science books. A lot of other kids he'd met didn't like science; he was so glad that John did. He looked up when John asked him about his other books, and he scooted closer a bit. "Those ones are fairy tales. And then these are pirate stories, and these are about detectives. And then down here are some of my music books." Sherlock pulled one out and opened it for John to see. "These are different notes in a song." Sherlock flipped to the beginning of the book to find the note chart. "The first line is an E, then the space here is an F. And then you keep going up the alphabet." 

John listened as Sherlock described all of his books, also scooting closer so he could see them. "They all look good," he said happily. "I can't wait to read all of them with you." John shifted back a bit so Sherlock could pull out his beginner music book, looking down at it as his glow cast a natural light over the paper. He listened intently as Sherlock pointed out the notes.

"So..." John said thoughtfully, pointing at the lines and spaces. "That's a G...is there an H? Cause you said to just go up the alphabet..."

Sherlock smiled and felt his chest swell with happiness when John spoke. "I can't wait, either," he said. Sherlock beamed at how intently John was listening. He shook his head when John spoke. "Once you get to G, it starts over at A again. And then this symbol," Sherlock explained, pointing at the sharp sign, "means sharp, and this one means flat."

John tilted his head when Sherlock spoke. But that made sense, H was next in the alphabet, how was it wrong? Still, John listened as Sherlock explained the musical alphabet. "So..." John said thoughtfully, pointing at the second space. "A...B...C...and stuff. And if you put that one by the C, is it C - C sharp? Sharp C?" John was quite curious, and it showed as he looked up at Sherlock for an explanation.

Sherlock noticed when John tilted his head; oh, he must still be confused. "It goes back to A because this A and this A make the same sound, except this one is higher. But they're still the same note. It's called an octave." Sherlock smiled softly and listened when John asked a question, and he nodded. "Yeah, a C-sharp. That means it's higher than a C and lower than a D. If you say D-flat, it's the same as C-sharp."

John listened as Sherlock explained, humming thoughtfully as he tried to process what Sherlock had told him. "So..." he said, pointing at the notes. "That A and that one are the same but an...oc-octave higher?" Octave was a funny word. "And...how are D-flat and C-sharp the same thing? They're two different names." Music, John was finding, was a rather confusing thing, but he was determined to learn as much as he could.

Sherlock nodded and smiled proudly when John spoke. "Mmhm, that's right." Sherlock smiled when John asked another question; it was good that John was asking questions. That meant that he was interested, that he wanted to learn more and understand everything. "C-sharp means higher than C, D-flat means lower than D. It's the same note, but it can be named in more than one way. I can show you on the piano downstairs." 

"Yay!" John said happily, glowing a bright yellow when Sherlock praised him. He really liked music of any kind, and he wished he could learn how to play it for himself. It was all so pretty! Maybe Sherlock could teach him. He listened as Sherlock explained how the two note names were the same, trying to wrap his little mind around it. "It sorta makes sense...but maybe seeing it downstairs will help."

Sherlock nodded. "I think it will." He carefully put all his books back on his shelf and then stood up. "Next, over here is my desk," he said, pulling his chair out and letting John sit in it. "That's the microscope I was telling you about." Sherlock went on his tip-toes and pulled the microscope closer to them, peering into it and adjusting it. He quickly set up one of the slides and got it into focus, and then angled it towards John. "Take a look!"

John followed Sherlock over to his desk, sitting in the chair that was offered to him. "It's really cool!" he said happily. John had never seen a microscope before, so this was rather exciting. He waited patiently, swinging his feet as Sherlock adjusted the microscope with utmost care and set up one of the slides. John peeked into the microscope when Sherlock told him too, gasping when he got a look at it.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, still looking at it.

Sherlock's face lit up at how excited and fascinated John was by the microscope. He giggled quietly at John's reaction when he looked into the microscope, and he grinned when John spoke. "Those are salt crystals," he explained. "You can change the magnification here, if you want to see them bigger or smaller." He smiled and waited patiently as John studied the slide, knowing that this must be the first time John had ever looked into a microscope. Sherlock remembered how excited he had been when he'd first looked into a microscope, so he was patient as he let John soak it all in.

"That's salt?" John said in awe. "But salt's so little!" John looked at the knob that Sherlock indicated, fiddling with it and gasping as the crystals got bigger and smaller. "It's really cool!" he said, eyes beginning to grow as he looked over at Sherlock. John continued to fiddle with the salt slide for a bit, playing with the magnification for a while before looking at Sherlock again. "What other slides do you have?" he asked.

Sherlock giggled at John's utter surprise and awe, and he nodded. "Yep, it is!" He grinned happily at John's excitement, at how John turned to look at him with wide eyes. He smiled encouragingly as John continued to study the slide, and he beamed when John asked him for more. "Hmm..." Sherlock slid the microscope towards him and took the salt slide out, putting it back in the box and looking for another one. He slid it into place and adjusted the magnification, making sure it was in view before turning it towards John again. 

John waited patiently as Sherlock changed out the slides, bouncing a bit eagerly in his seat. He'd never gotten to see how things looked when they were really close-up like that, so this was fantastic. He watched Sherlock adjust the magnification, stretching slightly when the microscope was turned towards him again. He looked into and lit up, smiling excitedly as he played with the magnification. "And this? What's this one?"

Sherlock beamed and felt his heart fill with happiness when John both figuratively and literally lit up when he showed him the slide. He grinned at how excited John's smile was and the way his voice sounded when he asked Sherlock so eagerly what it was. "That's a strand of hair," Sherlock said. "Mycroft's actually." 

"Really?" John said in surprise when Sherlock told him what was under the microscope. "That's hair? I didn't know..." John got a closer look at the strand of hair, and, sure enough, it had Mycroft's gingery hue to it."Yeah! It's the same colour as Mycroft's hair! I see it now." John beamed at Sherlock as he fiddled with the microscope, and then he had idea. "I - I wonder what some of my stardust would look like..." he mused.

Sherlock smiled again at how surprised John was, and he nodded. "Mmhm, looks cool, right?" He beamed proudly when John noticed the colour. "Good observation," he said. Sherlock's face lit up when John spoke, his eyes widening in excitement. "Oh!" Sherlock rooted around in his box for an empty slide, and he held it out to John. "Let's find out!" he said, grinning excitedly. 

John glowed a brighter yellow when Sherlock beamed so proudly and praised him. "Thank you!" he said happily, turning to study the hair a bit more. John caught a glimpse of Sherlock's excited expression when he mentioned his stardust and his eyes began to glow as well. Of course, he'd seen it before, but never up close! John took the slide from Sherlock and carefully brushed some of the dust out of his hair into his free hand before depositing it onto the slide, where it glimmered golden. John placed it under the microscope and fiddled with it, bringing it into focus and gasping quietly. "It's pretty, Sherlock!" he said, pointing excitedly. "Come see!"

Sherlock's chest filled with happiness when he saw that his compliment had made John happy. He hadn't expected that; he'd only complimented John because... because, well, he was only speaking the truth. And the fact that it made John happy made it even better. He beamed widely in excitement when John took the slide and put some of his stardust on it. Oh, it was already pretty, even without seeing it in the microscope. Sherlock waited patiently as John adjusted the microscope, and his eyes lit up at John's reaction. He stood closer to John and turned the microscope towards him, standing up on his toes and looking in. He let out a quiet gasp when he saw it.

"It's beautiful," Sherlock breathed, wishing he could somehow take a picture of what he was seeing. Each bit of stardust was made up of smaller components, and they each sparked, blinking on and off and it was almost like he was looking at a smaller version of the night sky.

John waited patiently as Sherlock studied the stardust under the microscope, eager to see his friend's reaction. He'd seen his stardust before, of course, but he'd never seen it like that. He loved how each individual part sparkled on its own, how some were brighter than others, all of that. But under the microscope, oh, it was like an entire new world. All of the individual parts had parts, and they twinkled like the stars in the sky. No wonder John was so twinkly -- he had loads of twinkly parts to his stardust that he didn't even know!

"I know..." John breathed. "No wonder my footprints and hair and stuff are so sparkly!"

Sherlock pulled back from the microscope and smiled softly at John, giggling softly when John spoke. He paused for a moment before speaking. "Can I keep this?" he asked, gesturing to the slide. "I can put this..." Sherlock rooted around in his box until he found what he was looking for. "I can put this bit of plastic over the sparkles so that they don't fall off and I won't lose them. And then I can look at them whenever I want to!"  

John looked at Sherlock when he spoke, gasping softly at the idea. "Yeah!" he said happily. "I'd like it if you kept it." John beamed at Sherlock as the little boy pulled out a piece of plastic. Oh that was wonderful. Sherlock could have a little piece of John in his room at all times, one that he could see whenever he wanted. That made John so happy! 

Sherlock beamed happily when John agreed to let him keep it, and he carefully placed the plastic over John's stardust, securing it in place and showing it to John. He placed the slide back into his box with his other ones, and his eyes lit up when he had a thought. "Oh! John, I wonder if the sparkles from your footprints look different from the ones in your hair. Can we test it?" he asked, ginning excitedly. 

John watched as Sherlock carefully covered the stardust with a piece of plastic and stored it in the box, beaming when it was shown to him. He saw Sherlock's eyes lit up and grinned; that meant Sherlock had an idea. And what an idea it was! John nodded excitedly when Sherlock spoke, eyes glowing a bit. "Yeah!" he said, putting his foot onto the carpet and pulling it away, gathering the sparkles into his hand. "Here!" John held his hand out to Sherlock, waiting for him to put it onto the slide.

Sherlock beamed when John seemed to be as excited as he was about his idea, and his chest filled with excitement when John gathered his sparkles into his hand. Sherlock reached into his box for another empty slide, and he gave it to John. He smiled when John carefully put his sample onto the slide and put the slide into place, watching excitedly when John looked into the lens. "What does it look like?" he whispered.

John looked into the microscope at his footprint sparkles, studying them carefully. They looked bigger than the ones from his hair, probably because they came from his footprint. They had a constant, glittering pulse to them, sparkling bright and golden beneath the lens. Some were brighter than others, but they were all gorgeous. "Come see! It's not the same!" John said excitedly waving Sherlock to the microscope.

Sherlock's eyes lit up when John spoke, and he grinned, turning the microscope and peering in. He gasped softly when he saw the sparkles; oh they were pretty! They were bigger, and they glimmered so brightly. Sherlock pulled back and grinned at John. "Can I keep this one too?" he asked, his eyes wide and hopeful. 

John watched as Sherlock came over to the microscope, eagerly waiting for his friend's reaction to his footprint sparkles. He beamed when Sherlock gasped, glow brightening when Sherlock grinned at him and asked if he could keep the slide. "Yeah!" John said. Sherlock wanted to have two different bits of his stardust, that was awesome! John himself was amazed by the different sizes of his stardust; he'd had no idea they both looked so different. He wondered what else he could find to look at under the microscope.

Sherlock's eyes lit up when John let him keep the slide. He put a strip of plastic over this one as well before putting it safely away in his box. He gave a small smile and waved John over so they could continue their tour of his room. "Next to my desk is my violin, which you saw. And my toy trunk, and then my bed." Sherlock padded across his room and watched John take it all in. "Then here's my dresser where I keep my clothes. And my closet. Oh, I can show you more of the stuffed animals I have in here!" 

John smiled as Sherlock put a strip of plastic over the slide before putting it away, safe for keeping. John slid off the chair and padded over as Sherlock waved him over, following Sherlock around his room. He listened as Sherlock pointed out everything in his room, smiling as he took everything. "I like your bed," John said softly. "It's soft and warm." John looked at Sherlock's dresser, admiring the shiny wood as he looked at the closet door. His eyes lit up when Sherlock mentioned more stuffed animals. "What do you have in there?" he asked.

Sherlock smiled when John spoke, and he nodded. "It is, and now it's even better because I get to share it with you." Sherlock beamed at John's reaction to his mention of stuffed animals, and he opened up his closet, pulling out his box of stuffed animals. "Here I've got a bear, a snake, a dolphin... these two are rabbits..." Sherlock handed each animal to John as he named them. A medium-sized brown teddy bear, a small striped snake, a grey dolphin, one pastel patchwork rabbit, and the other rabbit that resembled a real rabbit.

John's glow softened when Sherlock said that his bed was better because they got to share it. "Thank you," John said softly, sitting on the floor as Sherlock pulled out his box of stuffed animals. He watched happily as Sherlock pulled each one of them out and named them, picking up the dolphin and pretending to make it swim in midair since it looked like a fish, sort of. "I really like them," John said with a grin, putting the dolphin aside and picking up the snake. He made it slither across the floor, playfully hissing at Sherlock.

Sherlock's expression softened when John spoke and at the way John's glow seemed to soften at his words. He smiled softly and sat next to John as they looked at his stuffed animals. He giggled when John made his dolphin swim, and he beamed at John's words. "You can play with them anytime you want," he said. His giggle built up into laughter when John made his snake slither and hiss, and he grinned delightfully. He reached into his box again to pull out more animals. "These little ones are dogs. This one's a pug, this one's a beagle, and this one's a cocker spaniel."

John's eyes lit up when he made Sherlock giggle. Oh, he liked making Sherlock laugh. It meant that his friend was happy! He beamed when he got Sherlock's permission to play with his toys. "Really?" he said happily. "Thanks!" John too giggled when Sherlock burst into laughter, beaming again when Sherlock grinned. He put the snake aside when Sherlock began to pull out more toys, examining each if them. "I like this one!" he stated, grabbing the cocker spaniel and showing it to Sherlock. 

Sherlock nodded happily in confirmation. "Of course! And the next time we go to the store, we can buy you your own toys! I'm sorry you couldn't bring your cloud ones in here." Sherlock's chest swelled with happiness when John giggled and beamed so widely. He beamed when John spoke, and he nodded. "Me too! That's one of my favorites! I named it Redbeard 'cause that's a pirate name." Sherlock grinned happily, so excited that he got to share all these toys with John. "That's all I have in my box... I have two more on my bed, too." Sherlock stood and padded over to his bed, climbing onto it and waving John over. 

"Yay!" John said happily. "And - and I wonder what kinds of toys they have at the store." He sighed at the mention of his star toys. "I can play with them as long as I'm outside. I might..." John eyed the window. "I might be able to pull them in from there. I dunno." John lit up when Sherlock beamed and nodded, listening as he told the toy's name. "That's a cool name! I should give my turtle a name," he hummed, grabbing the green toy and hugging it as he followed Sherlock over to the bed. He climbed up onto the bed and looked at the two toys. "What are they?"

Sherlock nodded softly when John spoke of his star toys. "Maybe," he said softly. "We can try, but I don't want you to ruin them or anything." Sherlock grinned happily when John approved of Redbeard's name. "I don't usually name my animals 'cause I'm not good at coming up with good names; but I saw the name Redbeard in one of my pirate books," he explained. Sherlock showed John his last two stuffed animals.

"This one is a broccoli! He has poofy hair like me. And this one is an otter. I like otters. Oh! Maybe we can go to the aquarium sometime and see the otters together!"

John giggled softly when Sherlock showed him the toy broccoli. Broccoli was a vegetable; he'd never seen toy vegetables! John ruffled the green poofs on top of the broccoli before reaching over and ruffling Sherlock's curls, giggling happily. "I like your hair," John said. "It's all soft and stuff." He picked up the toy otter, playing with it on top of the bed. His eyes lit up when Sherlock mentioned the aquarium. "Oh, that'd be fun!" he said happily. "I hope we can go!"

Sherlock beamed when he heard John giggle, and he giggled himself when John ruffled his hair. He smiled when John complimented his hair. "Oh, thank you; yours is too!" He smiled happily when he watched John play with his otter, glad that John was having so much fun with his toys. His eyes lit up when John showed interest in the aquarium, and he grinned. "Me too! I haven't been there before; Mycroft said he'll take me someday." 

John blushed a bit when Sherlock complimented his hair, blush showing up as a soft pink glow on his cheeks. "Thank you," he said softly, continuing to play with the otter. He loved Sherlock's toy. They were soft and squishy, and he could do all sorts of fun things with them. John grinned when Sherlock's eyes lit up. He had an interest in everything about this new world, everything that humans did that he didn't get to do up in the sky. "I hope he takes you soon, maybe I can go with you! I really hope I can, it sounds fun!"

Sherlock's eyes widened a bit in awe when he saw John's cheeks glow pink. It was like when he blushed, but better! He smiled and hugged his broccoli as John played his otter. Sherlock beamed when John spoke, and he nodded. "Of course you can come with!" Sherlock glanced over at his clock. "Oh, it's almost time for breakfast." Sherlock could faintly hear movement in the kitchen. "Mycroft should be down there already; I guess we should head down soon too." 

John giggled when Sherlock hugged his broccoli, humming happily as he brought the otter to his chest and hugged it tightly. He loved playing with all of Sherlock's stuffed animals, and he was certain he could use them to play games with Sherlock. Oh, now that would be fun! John beamed when Sherlock nodded, eyes lighting up when Sherlock said that he could come with him to the aquarium when they went. "Thanks," John said happily, putting the otter back on the bed as Sherlock looked at the clock. "Alright," he said, sliding off the bed and heading over to the door. "I hope your parents like me..." Feeling a bit nervous, John went over to the door and chewed at his lower lip as he waited for Sherlock.


	4. Can I Stay Here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John meets Sherlock's parents for the first time and continues to learn more about the human world. Will it end well, or will our little star be without a home?

Sherlock furrowed his brow when he noticed John getting nervous again. Sherlock followed John over to the door, but before opening the door, he had to say something first. "They will like you," Sherlock said quietly. "Of course they will, John, you're my friend. I... I don't have any, besides you, and it made them worried and sad that I couldn't find anyone. But now I have! So don't worry about them not liking you, because they will."

John turned when he heard Sherlock coming up behind him, trembling slightly as he looked at his friend. He listened carefully as Sherlock spoke, taking deep breaths to try and relax as he took in Sherlock's words. They would like him. Sherlock...John's heart sank in his chest, and he bit his lip to fight the tingle in his eyes. Sherlock didn't have friends, and his parents were sad but they'd be happy now because John was Sherlock's friend. 

"Okay," John said, nodding as he looked up at Sherlock. "Thanks. Let's get down to breakfast, then." John waited for Sherlock to open the door, replaying Sherlock's words to reassure himself.

Sherlock's heart swelled and swelled when he saw how his words had affected John. He gave John a reassuring smile and nodded, taking a deep breath before opening the door. Sherlock stepped out into the hallway and quietly closed his door behind him, tiptoeing down the hall and down the stairs. He quietly made his way to the door of the kitchen, and he peeked into the kitchen, sighing softly when he saw Mycroft was already in there. He waved John over and waited until he caught Mycroft's eye, taking a deep breath when Mycroft waved them inside.

John took a deep breath of his own as Sherlock opened the door, following his friend out into the hallway and downstairs. He could do this. He could meet Sherlock's parents. John followed Sherlock into the kitchen, eyes widening when Mycroft waved them in. This was it. Okay. John followed Sherlock into the kitchen, hiding slightly behind his friend but knowing his glow would give him away.

"Mummy, Daddy," Mycroft began. "It seems that Sherlock has made himself a new friend. It's quite alright John, you can come out."

John hesitantly stepped out from behind Sherlock, revealing himself to Sherlock and giving a shy wave as he toed at the ground. "Uh...hello," John said quietly. "I - I'm John. John Watson. Sherlock's friend." 

Sherlock's parent's eyes widened a bit in awe when the boy stepped out from behind their son. Mycroft had just told them all about how he got here, how he fell from the sky when Sherlock made a wish, how his skin glowed like starlight. They were expecting it, but to see it for themselves was quite a different story. Mother and father turned to look at each other. They were going to let him stay. Of course they were. They decided that as soon as Mycroft told them. They certainly weren't expecting to raise and support another child, but there was no way they were going to turn him away. 

Sherlock's mother could sense how nervous Sherlock and the boy--John--were, and her expression softened. They didn't have to be so afraid. She waved them both over. "Sherlock, John, come here. Come, I won't bite."

Sherlock hurried over to his mother, resting his hands on her knees and looking up at her hopefully.

John watched nervously as Mycroft explained his origins, barely able to keep his eyes on Sherlock's parents as he clung to Sherlock's hand. They had to let him stay, they just had to. John had nowhere else to go! He couldn't go back to the sky. He saw Sherlock's parents exchange looks with each other, was that good? Not good? Oh, John was trembling, he was so nervous. He wanted to stay with Sherlock so badly. Mycroft finished talking, and John chewed at his lower lip as he waited. 

John looked up when Sherlock's mum waved the two boys over. She wanted him closer. That had to be a good sign, right? John followed Sherlock over to his mum, hesitantly placing his glowing hands on her knee and looking back at his glittering footprints. 

"I - I would really like it if you let me stay. I - uh, I like it here. Lots," John murmured, still keeping his eyes down slightly. 

Sherlock's mother smiled softly when she heard the young boy speak. She rested her hand on top of his and nodded. "You can stay, John. Absolutely." She looked over at her husband, who had nodded in agreement and placed a hand on John's shoulder. 

Sherlock's eyes lit up when his mother spoke, and he went over to her side, wrapping his arms around her as best as he could with his little arms. "Thank you," he whispered, smiling up at her before letting go. 

Sherlock's mum hugged her son back tightly. She was so glad, so relieved that Sherlock had a friend now. "We'll take care of you," she told John. "This is your home now. Don't be afraid to talk to us, or ask us for help." 

John bit his lip as Sherlock's mum spoke, feeling only slightly reassured when he felt Sherlock's dad rest his hand on his shoulder. He visibly relaxed when the older woman said that it was okay. It was okay! John had a new home, he could stay here! John glowed a bright gold, and his eyes glowed a bright blue. "Really?" John said excitedly. "Oh, thanks! I'll be good, I promise!" John moved and went over to Sherlock's mum's other side, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her gratefully. 

John let go a few moments later when he heard Sherlock's mum speak, heart warming at how kind she was. Oh, he'd fallen to such a good place; he knew he'd be loved here. "Okay," John said softly. "I won't be scared. I'm just really happy that I can stay here."

Sherlock's mum smiled warmly at how excited the boy was, and her heart warmed when they both hugged her. She squeezed them both gently, kissing the top of Sherlock's head and smiling down at John. "You can stay here as long as you want," she told John, letting go of them and getting up so she could go over to the stove and finish making breakfast. "Are you hungry, John?" Sherlock's father stood and went over to the fridge, asking John what he wanted to drink.

Sherlock grinned over at John, incredibly happy that John could stay, that his parents were treating John as one of their own. John was family now.

Sherlock's mum smiled warmly at how excited the boy was, and her heart warmed when they both hugged her. She squeezed them both gently, kissing the top of Sherlock's head and smiling down at John. "You can stay here as long as you want," she told John, letting go of them and getting up so she could go over to the stove and finish making breakfast. "Are you hungry, John?" Sherlock's father stood and went over to the fridge, asking John what he wanted to drink.

Sherlock grinned over at John, incredibly happy that John could stay, that his parents were treating John as one of their own. John was family now.

Sherlock nodded happily and beamed when John spoke. "Come on," he whispered, tugging gently on John's arm. "Let's sit down." Sherlock sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table; he smiled happily and felt his heart warm when John sat down next to him. He was sitting next to his friend! He had a friend! 

Sherlock's dad asked him what he wanted, and Sherlock replied with, "Orange juice, please." He sipped from his glass as they waited patiently for breakfast to be ready. 

"Okay!" John said happily, sitting in the chair between Sherlock and Mycroft. He made himself comfortable as a glass of milk was placed in front of him. He had a friend now! Sherlock was his friend, and maybe Mycroft too! Two friends! Oh, John was so lucky. "Thank you," John said graciously. He picked his cup up and took a small sip from it, beaming at Sherlock as he waited patiently for breakfast to be made. He'd never had human food before, so he was very curious about its taste.

Sherlock smiled widely when he looked over at John; oh, they were both so happy! This was really going to be great! After a few minutes, a plate of pancakes was placed in front of each of the boys. Sherlock beamed and poured some syrup onto his, starting to cut the pancakes into smaller pieces with the side of his fork. "Have you had pancakes before?" he asked John, looking over to see John's reaction. 

John tilted his head when the round, flat cakes were put in front of him. He watched everyone else for what he should do, following Sherlock's example and pouring some brown syrup over the cakes. "Pancakes?" John asked, looking down at his plate and shaking his head. So that's what these were called. Pan...cakes. Okay. Following Sherlock again, John cut off a small piece with the side of his fork, sticking the pointed end of the utensil into the cake and popping it into his mouth. Oh! It was yummy! It was so sweet! John's eyes lit up as he chewed and the sweetness spread over his tongue. 

"It's good!" he said happily, sipping from his milk. 

Sherlock raised his eyebrows when John spoke. He seemed confused. He'd never had pancakes before! Oh, he couldn't wait to see how John reacted; pancakes were delicious! Sherlock grinned when he saw John's eyes light up, and he giggled softly. Wow, there were so many things that John hadn't experienced yet! Sherlock couldn't wait to show all these new things to him. 

John giggled when Sherlock giggled, making sure nothing was in his mouth. Oh, human food was wonderful! It was so flavourful, so delicious! John really had a lot to learn about Earth, and he couldn't wait for Sherlock to teach him about it. They were going to have so much fun together! John cut off another small bite of pancake and put it into his mouth, humming happily and swinging his little feet back and forth as he did.

Sherlock beamed as they both continued eating their pancakes, happy that John was enjoying this so much. John was so eager and excited about everything, just like Sherlock was, and it was wonderful. "What kinds of food did you have in the sky?" Sherlock asked curiously, taking another sip of his juice. 

"Well," John said as he drank from his glass. "We made our food from clouds. It - people wouldn't taste anything, but we did cause we taste stuff different, I guess. I dunno. We could make all sorts of food, too." John really had never been told how the tasting in the sky worked because he was so little, that and he'd not expected to fall so soon. But he did, and he couldn't be happier.

Sherlock's eyes widened in interest when John spoke. "Oh, that's cool," he breathed. Sherlock knew that clouds were made of water vapor, so it would be tasteless to humans; it was so fascinating to know that it tasted different to stars like John! "What did it taste like?" he asked excitedly. "What was your favorite food?" 

ohn finished his breakfast, happily chatting with his new family. He was so happy that they liked him, especially since he'd been so nervous about that very thing. John put his fork down when he was done and thanked Mrs. Holmes for the meal before looking over at Sherlock. Oh, they had a whole day ahead of them, and John couldn't wait to spend it with his new friend. "What do you wanna do now?" John asked.

Sherlock grinned when John finished eating, and his heart fluttered in excitement. "How about I show you the rest of the house?" he suggested. 

"Oh, John, before you go," Sherlock's mother said. "I'll be going to the shops today; I figured I could get you some clothes. Do you have any preferences? Is there anything else you need?"

John made to slide down off the chair so he could go play with Sherlock, but he stopped when Sherlock's mother spoke. He thought for a few moments as he picked up his plate and fork to carry to the sink. "Um..." he said thoughtfully. "I don't have any pref - pref'rences. I'll happy with anything." He looked down at the clothes Sherlock had given him. "I really like these, though. And Sherlock is gonna let me play with his toys, so I'm okay there, too. Thank you, though." John gave Mrs. Holmes a smile and slid off the chair, padding over to the sink and putting his plate and fork into it.

Sherlock's mother smiled when John spoke; she had noticed that John was wearing Sherlock's clothes, and she was glad to hear that her son was so willingly sharing all of his things with his new friend. "You're welcome; have fun, boys." 

Sherlock waved John over and led him to the living room. Here there were sofas and a television, but Sherlock led John straight to the piano. "Come on, I wanna teach you more about music!" Sherlock said excitedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure what kind of food John would eat in the sky, so I just sort of came up with the headcanon that they fed off the water vapor because I didn't think that they would have access to human food. And thus, John's tastebuds are different since he's a star. I like the idea that John lost the ability to taste water vapor when he fell because he had no need for it on Earth. I also have the headcanon that fallen stars don't return to the sky, which was why John's tastebuds changed as soon as he fell.


	5. So Much to See!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock gives John his first music lesson and shows John the rest of his home.

John followed Sherlock excitedly over to the living room, glancing at the cushiony-looking sofas and television for a few seconds before heading over to the piano. "Okay!" he said happily, climbing up onto the small, rectangular bench and settling against the cushion. He looked at all of the different keys and reached out, plunking one right in the middle. "It sounds pretty!" he said delightedly, pressing it again before pulling his hand back and waiting patiently for Sherlock to start teaching him. He had the best music teacher ever; Sherlock was so smart and knew lots about music! Maybe Sherlock could teach John how to play an instrument so they could play music together!

Sherlock beamed and sat next to John on the piano bench. He giggled when John reached out and played one of the notes. He smiled when John pulled back and waited patiently for him to begin teaching; John was a really good student! He was so eager to learn, and he was really good at listening and paying attention. Sherlock started by explaining the basic notes and showing John where they were on the instrument. He showed John how every eighth note sounded the same, and how to play the C major scale.

John listened intently as Sherlock explained everything, repeating things he was told and asking questions when he didn't understand. Sherlock was an excellent teacher, and so smart! John wanted to impress his friend by making sure that he did everything _just right_. Once Sherlock was done teaching John the C scale, he decided to play it. Okay, so it started on...that one. The one in the middle. Using one finger, John plunked out each note of the scale, going up one...what was it? Oh! Octave. John finished the scale and looked at Sherlock, beaming widely.

"I did it!" he said happily, eyes glowing blue again.

Sherlock smiled as he taught John, feeling happiness swelling up in his chest. He gladly explained things when John had questions, proud that John was so determined to understand everything. He watched as John played the scale, and he beamed proudly, giggling softly when John spoke. "You did! Good job!" Sherlock said happily. "Okay, now I can show you the sharps and flats I was telling you about earlier. All the white keys are normal notes, and the black ones are the sharps and flats..."

John's eyes lit up and his smile widened when Sherlock praised him. He'd done it right! Yeah, it hadn't been perfect, but he'd still gotten through it, and that was what mattered. "Thanks!" he said delightedly, returning his attention to the keyboard. "Sharps and flats. That's the one that looked like...that had the four lines and the other one had the two lines. One was sorta circley." John studied the keyboard, looking at the black ones.

"So which ones are sharps and which ones are flats?" he asked curiously.

Sherlock beamed at the way John's face lit up when he'd praised him. It made him so happy when John looked at him like that. He nodded as John spoke, pleased with what John had remembered so far. "Well," Sherlock said, scooting closer to the keyboard. "All of them. Let me explain... So here you have a C." Sherlock played the note for John. "The note above it, the black one, is a C-sharp." Sherlock played it. "See how it's higher than the C? Then this is a D." Again, Sherlock played it. "And this is a D-flat." Sherlock played the same note he'd played before, the C-sharp. "It's lower than the D. This note is a C-sharp and a D-flat. It can be called two names."

John tilted his head when Sherlock began to explain the keys, confused. How could all of them be sharps _and_ flats? He watched as Sherlock explained it. Oh, okay. So it was higher if it was a sharp and lower if it was a flat. That made sense, he supposed. "So..." John found a key in the middle of three black keys. "This one...would be a sharp for that one..." John played the key that was just to the left of the black one, finding that it was lower, just like C was lower than C-sharp. "And a flat for this one." He played the one to the right, and it was higher. John thought through the C scale and figured it out. "Um...G-sharp and A-flat?"

Sherlock's eyes lit up and he beamed proudly at John when he not only figured out the sharp and the flat but he also named them! "Exactly! You got it!" Wow, John really was a fast learner! Sherlock was lucky to have a student like him. Sherlock slid off the bench and waved John over. "I can teach you more later; let's see the rest of the house first!" Sherlock led John over to the television and sat down on one of the couches, using the remote to turn the television on.

"This is the television," Sherlock said as John sat down next to him. "Have you seen one before?"

John beamed when Sherlock confirmed that he'd gotten it right. It had taken him a few moments to get it, but at least he'd figured it out on his own. Oh, that made him so proud of himself! He slid off the bench when Sherlock did, following his friend over and nodding. "Okay," John said softly. "That was fun, though!" John followed Sherlock over to the television and climbed up onto the couch beside him, eyes lighting up when the screen illuminated. They didn't have anything like that up in the sky!

"Tele...vison..." John said, trying out the new word. "I - no, I haven't...it's...it's really cool!"

Sherlock smiled when John spoke and nodded in agreement. "It was fun; I can teach you more later. We can go back to my room and get my piano books." Sherlock glanced over at John once they were seated, grinning when he saw John's eyes light up. "We call it telly for short." Sherlock changed it to his favourite channel -- the science one. "People use video cameras to record stuff like this, and we can watch it here!" Sherlock flipped to another channel.

"Those are actors; they pretend to be another person and tell a story."

John swung his feet a bit as he gazed in awe at the screen, transfixed by the moving pictures that seemed to appear like magic. He hummed when Sherlock gave the shortened name. "Telly," he said thoughtfully. "I like it." John watched as Sherlock changed the channel -- one press of a button, and a new picture appeared! Wow! "It's really cool!" John said after he listened to Sherlock explain what actors were.

"So...they just play pretend on the screen?"

Sherlock's eyes lit up and he beamed at John's excitement and enthusiasm. "Mmhm, exactly!" Sherlock said. "Have you played pretend before?" Sherlock asked curiously. He flipped the channel a few more times, telling John about how animated shows worked, and also what news stations did.

John nodded happily when Sherlock asked if he'd ever played pretend. "Yeah!" he said excitedly. "I did that lots when I was in the sky. It was my favourite game, especially when I played doctor. I liked doing that." He listened intently as Sherlock flipped the channel, eyes widening at the idea of animation. People drew all of those things! That was amazing! Even the news channels were interesting, one channel sent so much to an entire area.

Sherlock grinned happily and his eyes lit up when John spoke. "Cool! We can play pretend together! I can be your patient! And we can play pirates too! You can be my first mate." Once Sherlock was done showing John the television,  he turned it off and slid off the couch, smiling at John and leading him over to the dining room. "This is where we eat if we have guests over or if it's a holiday; but otherwise I sit here and read sometimes." Sherlock took John to the kitchen next.

"This is where we ate this morning. Here's the pantry which has food in it, and this is the refrigerator. That also has food, and it keeps the food cold so it doesn't go bad." 

John beamed when Sherlock mentioned playing pretend. Oh, that would be so fun! "Yeah!" John said happily, beaming widely as his glow became a bright yellow. "We can have lots of 'ventures!" John slid off the couch when Sherlock turned the telly off, following him into the dining room. He'd never seen a table _that_ pretty before! It was so shiny, and there were lots of pretty decorations on it. And the chairs looked so comfy! John pressed a hand on one cushion. "They're soft!" he said, grinning at Sherlock. He followed him into the kitchen, looking up at the pantry. It looked like just a bunch of doors, but John guessed the food was behind them. He tilted his head when Sherlock mentioned the refrigerator.  

"It's a box...how does it keep food cold?"

Sherlock opened up the refrigerator to show John the inside, waving John closer so he could feel the cold coming from the inside. "It uses electricity to keep the temperature cooler than the rest of the room." Sherlock smiled, very glad that he was teaching John so many new things. "Over this way is the office," Sherlock said. "I think father is in there now." Sherlock opened the door just a crack and let John peek through.

"You can't see from this angle, but there's bookshelves on every wall, filled with books," Sherlock whispered. "And the chair is really big and fancy and it spins! And the computer is in there. I can show you that later."

John stuck his hand into the open fridge, eyes widening when he felt the colder air. He pulled it out before Sherlock shut the door, amazed by all of the new things he was learning now that he was on Earth. John continued to follow Sherlock, peeking into the cracked door and indeed seeing Sherlock's father working. He turned back to Sherlock so he wouldn't distract the older man, lighting up with all sorts of questions. 

Sherlock grinned at all of John's questions, and he gladly answered them. "All kinds of books! Computers can do a lot of things. You can play games and go on the internet on the computer. You can search up all kinds of stuff online. And it is fun! But you can't spin too much or you'll get dizzy."

Sherlock kept walking and opened another door. "This is the downstairs bathroom. And then through here is the stairs to the basement. That's were we have the laundry machines that clean our clothes. There's not much down there but I can show you if you want." 

 John listened as Sherlock answered his questions, glad that his friend was so willing to answer them. He had never been to Earth before, only seen it from the sky, so he was curious about absolutely everything and wanted to learn as much as he could. "What kinds of games can you play on the computer?" he asked. "And is the internet fun?" John giggled at the idea of the spinning chair, deciding right then and there that he wanted to try it sometime when Sherlock's dad wasn't in the office.

He followed Sherlock towards the other door, nodding as he looked down the stairs. "It's dark down there...but hey! My light would make it nice and bright, wouldn't it? And I've never seen laundry cleaners before...is that what they're called?"

"All sorts of games!" Sherlock said. "Some websites on the internet are boring; you just have to find the right ones. There's games on the internet, too. You can find anything you want on the internet, really."

Sherlock giggled softly when John spoke. "Well, one of them is a washing machine and the other one is the dryer. Come on, I'll show you. There should be a light switch somewhere..." Sherlock carefully went down the stairs, finding the light switch and turning it on. Once they got to the bottom of the stairs, they turned the corner to find the laundry room. "This one's the washing machine; you put the clothes in there with some detergent and it cleans it for you. When it's done, the clothes are wet, so you put it in the dryer over there."

"I think I can figure out what they do," John said thoughtfully after Sherlock named the appliances. John followed Sherlock down into the basement, his natural light illuminating the room enough for Sherlock to find the light switch. He looked around once the light was on, his own glow dimming to accommodate. There really wasn't much in the basement, just the laundry room.

John listened to Sherlock describe the machines, grabbing a purple bottle and gripping it with both hands because it was a little heavy. "This stuff?" John asked, putting the bottle back so he wouldn't drop it and make a mess. "And, and, I thought that was what the things did!" He looked around again. "Not much fun stuff to do in here," he said, looking up at the staircase.

Sherlock giggled softly when John grabbed the purple bottle of detergent, and he nodded. "Mmhm." He beamed proudly when John spoke, and he nodded as John looked around. "Yeah, just storage mostly. We can go back upstairs." Sherlock turned off the lights and lead the way back up the stairs. "I think we already saw everything on the first floor. Let's go up to the second." Sherlock lead the way up another flight of stairs, making sure that neither of them tripped.

"There's Mycroft's room, and mine. Here's the bathroom." Sherlock opened the door and turned the light on to show John the inside. "And over here..." Sherlock said as they walked down the hallway. "That's my parents' room. No one's in there, we can sneak in and I can show you what it looks like."

John followed Sherlock up the stairs, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the lighting in the hallway. "Okay," he said when Sherlock suggested going up to the second floor. He kept very close to Sherlock, not wanting to trip or make Sherlock trip. Once at the top of the stairs, John looked at the rooms that Sherlock pointed out, nodding to show that he understood. He wondered what Mycroft's room had in it. He imagined there were lots and lots of books, maybe science things too since Sherlock liked science. He peeked into the bathroom and back out, not really seeing much of interest in it. He padded over to the room at the back of the hall, eyes widening.

"We can go in there?" John asked, peeking cautiously at Sherlock's parents' bedroom door. "And they won't get mad?"

Sherlock nodded in confirmation. "They won't get mad. As long as we don't make it all messy. I go in here all the time."

Sherlock smiled and opened the door, letting John go in first. "There's the big bed. And over here is a walk-in closet!" Sherlock opened the door to show John how big it was. "And there's a bathroom through there. There's a nice bathtub in there, and the shower has a sliding door." Sherlock went over and opened the door. Once John was done looking around, Sherlock lead John back into the hallway. "Oh, and over here, we've got a guest bedroom." Sherlock lead John inside and flopped onto the bed. "If you ever want your own room, this can be yours."

"Okay," John said as he followed Sherlock into his parents' bedroom. He smiled as Sherlock let him go first into the room. Oh, it was so much bigger than Sherlock's room. And the bed was so tall! He turned when Sherlock mentioned the closet. "Walk-in? Does that mean it's bigger than yours?" he asked, eyes widening when Sherlock confirmed the answer. It was huge! There were clothes everywhere along the walls, and it looked big enough to be a seperate room. "Wow..." John breathed, gazing around before returning his attention to Sherlock, looking around the bathroom. The bathtub looked big enough to swim in, and the shower was very pretty; the glass had a wavy sort of look to it.

John turned around once he was finished looking, following Sherlock into the guest bedroom and flopping down next to him on the bed. "Okay, but I like your room lots. I don't mind sharing it with you at all."

Sherlock grinned when John spoke, and he nodded. "I don't mind, either. But if you ever need it, it's here." Sherlock sat up after a bit and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "What do you wanna do now?" he asked, looking over at John excitedly. They had a whole day ahead of them to do whatever they wanted!


	6. So Much to Learn!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock continues to teach John about his new home, and a pirate ship gets its name.

"Thank you," John said kindly, gazing up at the ceiling for a few moments. He sat up after he saw Sherlock move, crossing his legs and thinking. He chewed at the inside of his lower lip, as he always did when thinking. "Hmm," John said. "We could go play a game or something!" He looked outside at the sun shining brightly. "It's so pretty outside, we should play outside!" There were so many things to do, and they had the whole day to do them! It was awesome!

Sherlock's eyes lit up at John's idea, and he grinned. "That's a good idea! Let's go change first." Sherlock slid off the bed and padded over to his room, opening his drawer and pulling out some clothes for the day. He picked some out for John too and smiled. "I picked a yellow shirt for you because, because I thought it'd look good with your glow," Sherlock said softly, hoping John liked it. Sherlock changed out of his pajamas and tossed them into his hamper in his closet before putting his clothes on.

John beamed when Sherlock approved of his idea, nodding excitedly. "Okay!" he said happily, sliding off the bed and following Sherlock back to his room. John waited patiently as Sherlock chose him something to wear, eyes lighting up at the yellow shirt and the denim shorts. "Oh, I like them!" he said delightedly, eyes glowing a bit as his glow brightened. "Thanks!" John quickly changed out of his pyjamas and into his new clothes. "What do you think?" John asked, turning around and holding his arms out so Sherlock could see.

Sherlock's eyes lit up and he grinned when John turned around to show him how he looked in the shirt. "Wow! You look great!" Sherlock took John's hand and tugged him over to the bathroom, helping John up onto the stool so he could see in the mirror. Sherlock stepped onto the stool next to John and held onto the edge of the sink to keep his balance.

John's glow brightened when Sherlock complimented him. "Really?" he asked, following Sherlock over to the bathroom. John carefully stood on the small stool as Sherlock helped, gripping the edge of the sink so he wouldn't fall. He looked at himself in the mirror and beamed. Oh wow, it did look good! "You were right!" John said happily, admiring the way that the yellow went with his glow. "And that purple looks really good on you too."

Sherlock nodded eagerly at John's question, and his eyes lit up when John saw himself in the mirror and agreed. Sherlock blushed slightly and looked down at his shirt when John complimented it. "Oh, thank you," he said softly, smiling happily. Sherlock met John's gaze in the mirror and grinned happily before carefully stepping down and going back to his room. He sat down on the floor so he could put his shoes on and tie the laces. "Hmm, guess you need a pair of shoes, too." Sherlock got John some socks from his dresser, and then looked in his closet for some extra shoes.

John's glow softened when Sherlock blushed; oh that was so sweet! "You're welcome," he said happily. He grinned when their gazes met, carefully getting odd the stool and following Sherlock back to the bedroom. John looked down when Sherlock sat on the floor to put on socks and shoes, wiggling his bare toes and frowning. He didn't have socks. Or shoes. Maybe Sherlock would. Sure enough, Sherlock handed him a pair of socks. John sat down to put them on, watching as he waited for Sherlock to find some shoes.

"Guess you won't be able to leave sparkly footprints when you have shoes on, huh?" Sherlock said softly as he placed a pair of extra shoes on the ground by John's feet. He sat down cross-legged next to John as John put the shoes on. "I can help you with tying the laces if you need help," he offered.

"No, I won't," John sighed as he grabbed the shoes and put them on his feet. "But that's okay." He eyed the long, white laces and took them in his hands, awkwardly toying with them. He didn't know how to tie his shoes. Smiling sheepishly, John turned and looked at Sherlock. "Um...help me, please?" he asked shyly.

Sherlock smiled at the way John awkwardly toyed with his laces, and he giggled quietly when John smiled at him sheepishly. "Of course," he said, scooting closer and expertly tying John's shoelaces. Sherlock stood and held a hand out to help John up, and they started to make their way downstairs together. "I can teach you to tie your own laces later if you want; it's easy!"

"Thank you," John said shyly, watching as Sherlock tied his laces into neat little bows. "You're good at that!" John took Sherlock's hand and stood, dusting himself off before following Sherlock downstairs. He smiled at Sherlock's offer to help him learn to tie his shoes. "And okay! That way I can tie them myself instead of always asking you for help.

"You're welcome," Sherlock replied, beaming proudly when John complimented him. He looked over and beamed when he caught John's smile, and his eyes brightened when John spoke. "Yeah! I like teaching you things." Once they got downstairs, Sherlock opened the door that lead to the backyard and held it open for John. He took a deep breath as he stepped out into the nice sunny weather.

"I like learning things from you!" John said happily as he followed Sherlock downstairs and towards the back door. He went outside after Sherlock and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he relished in the warm, sunny weather. "Oh, it feels good out here," he said softly, opening his eyes and looking at all of the greenery in the garden. "What do you wanna play first?"

Sherlock nodded in agreement when John spoke. "It's really nice today," he said. He hummed softly and thought for a bit when John spoke. "Well, we've got some toys in the shed back over here," Sherlock said, leading John over to it and opening up the door. There was various sports equipment, balls of all kinds and sizes, chalk, jump ropes, and a lot more.

John followed Sherlock over to the shed, his eyes widening when he saw all of the balls and toys. "Wow!" he gasped, taking it all in. "You have lots of stuff." John went over and grabbed the bucket of chalk, looking curiously at the crayon-shaped pieces. "This looks kind of like the things I saw in your room," he said. "With those books with the pictures that weren't coloured. Do...I guess you colour with this stuff...?" he asked, holding the bucket out to Sherlock.

Sherlock smiled when John showed interest in the chalk, and he nodded, taking the bucket when John held it out to him. "Mmhm, it's called chalk! We can use it to draw on the pavement in front of the house. Back here it's just grass, so we can't draw on that," Sherlock explained. "Are you good at drawing?" Sherlock asked curiously.

"Chalk," John said, eyeing the pastel-coloured crayons. "I didn't think you could draw on the grass. It's too soft. Could...could we go draw in front of the house with it?" That would be fun, drawing pictures on the ground. John had only ever drawn on paper, so this was definitely something new! He hummed when Sherlock asked if he could draw. "Sorta, yeah," he said, nodding. "What about you? Can you draw?"

Sherlock's eyes lit up when John suggested drawing with the chalk. "Okay! Let's go!" he said excitedly. Sherlock closed the door to the shed and lead John around to the front of the house. "Mm, a little bit," Sherlock said. "I wanna get better, but even if I don't it's still fun!" Sherlock found a nice spot on the pavement and sat down, opening the box of chalk and letting John choose a colour.

"Okay!" John said happily, glowing brightly as he followed Sherlock around to the front of the house. He sat on his haunches once they found a good spot, nodding as Sherlock spoke. "Me too. I'm good at colouring, though!" John hummed thoughtfully when Sherlock offered the bucket of chalk, thinking for a few moments before choosing a blue piece of chalk and beginning to draw on the pavement.

"Oh, me too! Colouring is fun! We can colour together!" Sherlock beamed excitedly at the thought, and he smiled when John chose a piece of chalk. Sherlock himself picked a yellow piece, and he started to draw a bee. He then drew a bunch of hexagons connected together to look like the honeycomb. He looked over at John after a few moments. "What are you drawing?"

"Yes!" John said happily. "We can use those books!" He hummed to himself as he drew. John drew half a circle with the straight side up, a line going up in the middle of that, and a triangle pointing to the right on the line. He drew a water-like pattern below the half circle, shifting back to admire his work. "It's a boat!" John said happily, eyeing Sherlock's drawing. "I saw one in your room. What's that?"

"Cool!" Sherlock exclaimed. "Your waves look good, too!" Sherlock beamed when John asked about his drawing. "This is a bee, like my stuffed animal. And these are honeycombs! Bees live in a beehive that looks like this, and it's made of little honeycombs." Sherlock drew a quick sketch of what a beehive would look like. "And they make honey, which tastes very good."

"Thanks!" John said happily, beaming as Sherlock complimented his artwork. He seemed to glow with pride. John listened as Sherlock explained what he'd drawn, nodding to show that he understood. Oh, Sherlock was so smart, John was so impressed! "Honey? Do you have any in the kitchen? I wanna try some!" John asked after Sherlock was done talking. "What does it taste like?"

Sherlock's eyes brightened when John beamed, and he smiled at how happy John was. "You're welcome!" He beamed when John nodded in understanding. Sherlock nodded eagerly when John spoke. "I think so! It tastes really sweet; kinda like the syrup from breakfast today, but a little different. Sherlock stretched out and laid down on his stomach, resting his cheek on his arm as he thought about what to draw next.

John listened to Sherlock explain what honey tasted like. "Oh, it sounds really good!" he said happily. "What do you eat it with?" John settled back on his haunches and put the blue chalk back into the bucket, grabbing a piece of green chalk and thinking about what to draw next. He eventually began to draw an animal shape, adding whiskers and ears to form the beginnings of a dog.

"Um, a lot of things! Some people like to put it in their tea to make it sweeter." Sherlock plucked an orange piece of chalk from the box. He used his yellow chalk first to draw the outline of a giraffe with a long, long neck, and then he used the orange chalk to draw spots on it. He propped himself up on his elbows when he was finished so he could look over and see what John had drawn. "Ooh, a dog!" Sherlock said excitedly. "I like it!"

"Oh wow!" John said. "Is it, is it good on pancakes?" That was the only human food he'd had so far, so it was the only idea he had. John continued to draw his dog as he watched Sherlock draw something new. It had a long neck and orange spots. He'd heard of that before! John's eyes lit up when Sherlock complimented his dog -- he'd grabbed his blue again and added spots. "Thanks! And yours is...I've heard of it...a giraffe!" John beamed at Sherlock before finishing his dog by adding a floppy-looking tail. "Hmm..." John grabbed another piece of orange chalk and began to draw another animal, this one smaller and with triangular ears.

"I don't know! I've never tried that; maybe we can try it together sometime!" Sherlock suggested. Sherlock smiled when he saw John adding blue spots to his green dog. "Those colours look good together," he said. He beamed when John identified his animal, and he nodded. "Yeah!" Sherlock put his chalk back in the box and scooted closer a bit. "Can I borrow your green please?" he asked.

John looked up when Sherlock spoke about his colours, eyeing the blue and the green together. "Thanks!" he said happily, returning to work on his orange cat and humming to himself, a random melody that he made up as he went. John added yellow stripes to his orange cat, carefully colouring it as Sherlock scooted closer. He looked up when Sherlock spoke, nodding as he grabbed the green in his right hand. "Here you go," he said softly.

"Thank you," Sherlock said quietly, starting on his next drawing. He smiled softly as he heard John humming a rather interesting melody, enjoying the tune as he worked. Sherlock drew a semicircle and added a grid pattern to it--the shell of his turtle. He then added legs, a tail, and a head. He looked up when he finished, and he smiled happily when he saw John's drawing. "A cat! I like him!"

"You're welcome," John said softly, continuing to work on his cat as he hummed. He looked over at Sherlock's drawing and tried to figure out what it was. Hmm. A half-circle with a pattern, legs, a tail, a head...oh! A turtle! John finished colouring his cat, beaming when Sherlock smiled at his drawing. "Yeah!" he said happily. "Thanks! I like your turtle too."

Sherlock giggled softly and said a shy 'thank you' when John complimented his turtle. He sat back and surveyed his work, tilting his head as he thought about what to draw next... Oh! He had an idea! Sherlock searched in the box for a yellow piece of chalk. He started by drawing a face, and then a body, and then lines radiating from the boy to indicate glowing. He looked up at John shyly when he finished and gave him a small smile. "It's you," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," John said softly, finding the shy thanks cute. He watched as Sherlock seemed to look at his work, as though surveying it for details that he'd missed. And then, the look shifted. Sherlock was thinking, trying to decide what to draw. John looked down in interest as Sherlock began to draw with a yellow crayon. He drew a face, a body, and...oh! John's eyes lit up when Sherlock finished. "It's pretty," John said softly. He grabbed the purple and imitated Sherlock's drawing, scribbling swirls with a grey-coloured chalk on top of the head. "And that's you," he added, joining their hands together. "Friends."

Sherlock's smile widened when John complimented his drawing. His eyes widened and he watched in awe as John started to add to his drawing, gasping quietly when Sherlock realized that it was _him_. He smiled warmly at the added touch with the hair, and his heart soared when John made them hold hands. His expression softened at John's words, and it seemed to finally sink in that Sherlock had a real _friend_. Sherlock dropped his piece of yellow chalk and scooted closer to John, wrapping his arms around his friend as best as he could given they were both sitting down. "Thank you," he said quietly.

John put his grey chalk down as Sherlock scooted closer, also shifting closer. He was very careful not to smudge their drawings; that wouldn't be any good. John felt his heart swell and warm when Sherlock wrapped his arms around him, and he wrapped his arms around Sherlock, glowing softly. He smiled when Sherlock thanked him, nuzzling against his friend. "You're welcome," John murmured. John closed his eyes and kept his arms around Sherlock, relishing in how good it felt to have and be a friend, especially to someone as amazing as Sherlock.

Sherlock's heart soared when John wrapped his arms around him too, and he beamed, squeezing John gently. He relaxed a bit and smiled happily when John kept his arms around him instead of pulling back right away. Oh, John was really good at giving hugs. Sherlock's skin warmed as John held him, and he felt his chest fill with happiness. He felt safe, and he knew that John really cared about him and liked him. Sherlock pulled away after a moment and gave John a small smile. No one had ever made him feel like that with a hug. 

John hummed happily as Sherlock squeezed him, keeping his arms around Sherlock to prolong the hug. Sherlock gave really, really good hugs. He smiled softly as he felt himself warm, both from his natural glow and from the way it felt to hug Sherlock. His heart warmed and filled with happiness. He felt so liked, so safe here in Sherlock's arms. Sherlock liked him, Sherlock cared about him, which was exactly what he'd wanted. John let go when Sherlock pulled back from the hug, smiling warmly at his friend as he decided that hugs were quite possibly his favourite thing. 

Sherlock's face lit up and he smiled when he pulled back and saw that John was glowing. _He'd_ done that; John was glowing because of him. And that made him very happy. Sherlock stood and put all the chalk back into the box before picking it up. He took John's hand, just like the chalk version of himself did, and smiled warmly, tugging gently. "Come on, let's go do something else." He led John back to the shed and put the chalk back, surveying the shelves for what to do next. 

John beamed when Sherlock smiled at him, figuring it was because of his glow. John had a natural glow, but it brightened when he was happy or in a good mood, like he was now. John stood and helped put the chalk away, dusting his hands off before taking Sherlock's hand. Oh, that felt nice. Sherlock's hand was so warm! "Alright," John said, following Sherlock to the shed. He too surveyed the shelves, glancing over at Sherlock. "What do you wanna do?"

Sherlock smiled softly as John helped him put the chalk away, and his felt a warmth spread from his hand throughout the rest of his body when John took his hand. Sherlock held on tight and smiled, so happy to have John beside him. "Mm, we can go explore in the trees and bushes back there!" Sherlock suggested. He reached into the shed and pulled out the magnifying glass that he kept in there. "We can use this to see all the little bugs and stuff." 

John's eyes lit up when Sherlock suggested exploring the trees and bushes behind the shed. "That sounds like fun!" he said happily, going into the shed and grabbing a net with a long handle. "So we can catch things!" John explained, waving the net in the air as though trying to do that very thing. He looked out into the trees and bushes. "Lead the way," he said, keeping a right hold on Sherlock's hand.

Sherlock giggled quietly when John picked up the net; the handle was a little taller than John, and it looked funny for someone so small to be holding something that big. He burst into laughter when John started to wave the net in the air; oh that looked even funnier! Sherlock grinned when John spoke, and he nodded, starting to walk around the shed and towards the trees. He gave a small smile when John continued to hold his hand. 

John tilted his head as he heard Sherlock giggling at him. What was so funny? He got a look at the long net he was holding; oh, perhaps that was it. It was quite a bit taller than John, after all. John followed Sherlock into the trees behind the shed, looking around for bugs and things as they walked. He returned Sherlock's smile as he held the boy's hand, squeezing it gently. "See anything yet?" John asked as they went further into the trees.

Sherlock grinned and felt his heart warm when John squeezed his hand, feeling safe and not lonely. He looked over at John when he spoke, and he hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm..." Sherlock slowed to a stop as they approached a tree, and he used his magnifying glass to peer at the bark. He saw a few ants, and he pointed them out to John. "Want to try looking at them through this?" he asked, offering the other boy his magnifying glass.

John watched as Sherlock looked through the magnifying glass, wondering what the other boy saw through the glass. He went over to Sherlock to see what it was, making an 'oh' sound when he spotted the line of ants crawling up the trunk. He lit up when Sherlock offered to let him use the glass, nodding happily as he took it. John aimed the glass at the ants and looked through it, gasping at what he saw. "They got bigger!" he said, almost awestruck. "That's really cool!"

Sherlock's face lit up at how eager John was to use the magnifying glass, and he grinned happily at John's excitement when he looked through it. "Yeah! It does the same thing as the microscope, but the microscope lets you see a lot closer." Sherlock found a patch of flowers near the tree and waved John over. "Come look at these!" 

"That's really cool!" John said excitedly, examining the tree's bark with Sherlcok's magnifying glass for a few moments. He turned and went over to Sherlock when he heard Sherlock call his name. He knelt down next to the patch of flowers that Sherlock had found, grinning as he looked down at them. Oh, they were so pretty! "They're pretty!" John said happily, picking one and sticking it in Sherlock's hair. John looked at the flower in Sherlock's hair and giggled at how it looked. "Now you are!"

Sherlock beamed as John continued to look through the magnifying glass and examine things, glad that John was so fascinated by it. His eyes lit up when John approved of the flowers he'd found, and they widened when John put one of the flowers in his hair. Sherlock let out a soft 'oh' and reached up to touch the flower in his hair, making sure not to dislodge it. His face lit up and he felt himself blush when John said that he was pretty too. "Thank you," he said shyly, giving John a small smile. He turned after a moment and sat down in the patch of grass next to the flowers, patting the spot next to him and indicating for John to sit next to him. "Let's see how they look under the magnifying glass!"

John's glow brightened when Sherlock's face lit up and went a shade of pink. Sherlock was very pretty, even without the flower. John especially liked Sherlock's eyes because they reminded him of the sky during the day, and his hair was really soft. "You're welcome," John said softly, returning the small smile as he picked a flower and stuck one in his hair so he could be like his best friend. A bit of his stardust fell onto the white petals, giving it a shimmery sort of look. He sat next to Sherlock and pulled out the magnifying glass, holding it out over the flowers and looking down at it. "Wow!" John said. "You can see all sorts of stuff. Look!"

Sherlock's eyes lit up and his smile widened when John put a flower in his own hair too. Now they were matching! And John looked very pretty and his flower was glittering! "You look pretty," Sherlock said shyly, grinning softly. "And your flower is sparkly like you!" Sherlock scooted closer and put his head next to John's so he could see through the magnifying glass too. He gasped in excitement when he saw the flower up close; he could see all the parts! He didn't know exactly what they were called though; he knew there was a book about that somewhere in the house, maybe he and John could learn together! 

John blushed slightly, a faint pink creeping into his glow when Sherlock complimented him. "Thank you," he said quietly. He reached up to touch his flower when Sherlock said that it was glittery, and sure enough, there was a bit of his stardust on his fingers. Cool! John beamed when Sherlock gasped in excitement, adoring how eager his friend was to see new things. It made everything so much more fun, having a friend. John studied the flowers, humming thoughtfully as he looked at the different parts. "What are they called?" he asked. "All the different stuff that's in the flower."

Sherlock's smile widened a bit when he saw John blush; it looked especially pretty when John did that. It was almost like his entire glow had a faint pink tint to it. "You're welcome," he said softly. Sherlock grinned as they both studied the flower together; this was so fun! "I don't know," Sherlock admitted. "I'm sure there's a book about it in my house though; maybe we can read it and learn together!" 

John continued to study the flower with Sherlock, examining it from different angles to see if he could see anything new. This was fun, getting up close to stuff like this! He turned when Sherlock spoke, nodding excitedly. "Okay, yeah!" John said happily. "I love looking at books with you. It's fun!" After a few more moments, John pulled the magnifying glass away and began to look around. "Hmm..." he said. "What else can we look at?"

Sherlock's eyes lit up when John agreed to reading about flowers together, and he beamed, feeling his heart soar with happiness. He stood up when John started to look around for more things, and he jumped up in excitement when he saw something. "John, over here! I wanna show you something." Sherlock led John over to a big rock, and he climbed up on top of it. "It's my pirate ship! I play here with Mycroft sometimes."

John jumped up when Sherlock called his name, bounding over to the big rock. He'd never seen a rock that big before! John carefully followed Sherlock up onto the rock, gazing all around him with wide eyes. "Wow..." he said, awestruck. "You can see lots of stuff from here! It's really high!" John shielded his eyes with one hand, surveying the territory like a pirate. "What's your ship called?" he asked.

Sherlock helped John up onto the rock, making sure that the other boy didn't slip. He grinned widely when he saw how awestruck John was, and he nodded excitedly. "Yeah! It makes me feel really big and tall." Sherlock giggled softly as he watched John shield his eyes with one hand. He'd make a great pirate! "Oh, I haven't named it yet," Sherlock said. "Do you have any ideas?"

"It makes me feel big and tall too!" John said happily, continuing to scout the new territory. There was so much new stuff to see now that they were up high! John grinned when Sherlock giggled at him, putting his hand down and turning to look at his friend. John shook his head and scratched at it. "I dunno..." he admitted. "I've never named a pirate ship. What are they usually called?" 

Sherlock giggled softly and beamed happily when John spoke, turning slowly and looking all around him. His heart soared when John grinned at him, and he tilted his head at John's question. "Hmm... I don't know... It could be anything, really. As long as it sounds pretty and majestic." 

"Hmm," John murmured, looking around for something to inspire him. He caught a glimpse of some of his stardust that had fallen to the rock and gasped softly as an idea came to him. "How about...The Gold Night?" he asked. "Cause my stardust is gold, and we met at night! I mean, I know...I know it's the rock that you play on with Mycroft sometimes, but it sounded like a cool name..." John toed at the rock and cast his eyes downward, hoping that Sherlock liked the name.

 John made a soft sound when Sherlock gave him a gentle hug; he hadn't been expecting that! John returned the gentle hug, eyes lighting up when Sherlock spoke. Oh, he liked the name! That made John feel much better. "Really?" John asked eagerly, beaming up at Sherlock as his glow brightened. "Thanks! And, I wasn't sad cause you played with Mycroft, I was worried that you might not like it cause it was the rock you shared with him first. But now I know you do and we can play here all the time, and that makes me feel better." 

Sherlock's heart warmed and his heart swelled with happiness when John hugged him back, and his expression softened when John lit up again. He nodded happily when John spoke, grinning happily when John beamed at him. "Oh," Sherlock nodded when John spoke, understanding now. "Just 'cause I played here with Mycroft first doesn't mean I had more fun with him than I do with you. Mycroft's a good brother, but... sometimes he gets bored and doesn't play along, and it's no fun. I really do like the name you came up with, John." Sherlock smiled shyly, glad that he'd made John feel better.

John listened as Sherlock reassured him, smiling softly and feeling a warmth spread over him at Sherlock's shy smile. That was really cute! "I won't get bored, Sherlock," John said softly. "I like playing with you lots cause you're so much fun. You're showing me all sorts of cool stuff!" John beamed at Sherlock, squeezing him gently before letting go. 

Sherlock's face lit up and his eyes widened in amazement when John spoke. Wow, it felt good, hearing that. "Thank you, John," he said quietly. His heart soared and he beamed happily when John squeezed him gently. He sighed softly when John let go, and he smiled at him happily. "The Gold Night," he said, testing the name out. Sherlock's eyes lit up when he had an idea, and he laid down on his stomach, waiting for John to do the same so they could use the magnifying glass and look at the ridges and patterns of the rock up close. 

"You're welcome," John said softly, heart warming when he saw Sherlock beaming at him as he pulled back from the hug. He returned Sherlock's smile, lighting up when Sherlock tested the ship's new name. "The Gold Night," John agreed, nodding at his friend. He tilted his head when Sherlock's eyes suddenly lit up. What was his idea? Figuring that he'd find out, John laid down on his stomach next to Sherlock, eyeing his friend curiously. "What did you wanna do?" John asked.

Sherlock beamed when John joined him, and he looked over when John spoke. "Magnifying glass, please," Sherlock said, holding his hand out and smiling when John handed it to him. He held it out above the rock and peered into it, his eyes lighting up at what he saw. "John, look!" The ridges of the rock could be seen more clearly, and all the different colours! There were even a few gold sparkles, probably from John.

John handed the magnifying glass to Sherlock, watching intently as Sherlock peered into it. What did he see on the rock that was so fascinating? John looked into the magnifying glass when Sherlock asked him to, gasping at what he saw. There were all sorts of patterns and colours! And sparkles! "Oh wow!" John said excitedly, eyes lighting up. "Even the rock is pretty! And, and, and I bet the sparkles are mine! They might've fallen off when I got down here with you!"

Sherlock's eyes lit up at John's excitement, and he beamed at John's words. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking! They're gold..." Sherlock leaned in closer and poked one of the little sparkles; it stuck to his fingertip, and he examined it under the magnifying glass. He giggled softly and brushed it off, startling a bit when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, it's just an ant," he said, aiming the magnifying glass at it and watching it crawl across the rock. 

"Then they're definitely mine!" John said happily, watching as Sherlock examined a sparkle under the microscope. John giggled when Sherlock did, poking at a few sparkles and beaming when they stuck to his finger. John gasped when Sherlock startled, immediately trying to protect his friend. He relaxed when Sherlock did, sighing with relief. "Oh, okay," John said quietly, sitting on his knees so he could watch the ant through the magnifying glass. "Wonder where it's going..."

Sherlock grinned when he heard John giggle and when John poked at the sparkles too. He calmed down once he'd realized what it was, and he kept close to John as they watched the ant. His heart warmed when he realized that John had instinctively tried to protect him from what had startled him. He moved a little closer to John and smiled up at him; wow, they'd only just met each other, and John was already willing to do anything to protect him. Sherlock couldn't believe he had such a good friend. 

John smiled softly when Sherlock shifted a little closer. Of course he protected Sherlock. Sherlock was his friends, and friends protected each other. He was sure that Sherlock would protect him if he ever got scared. Sherlock was a really good friend, after all. John furrowed his brow when he realised that the ant had gone. "We lost the ant," he said, frowning slightly.

Sherlock giggled quietly when John spoke, and he looked around for any sign of movement. "Oh, it went over there!" Sherlock said, pointing to a spot on his left. He giggled softly again and grinned as they both watched so intently as the little ant crawled around. Sherlock sighed when the ant crawled over the edge of the rock and disappeared, and he turned to John, smiling softly. "What should we do now?"

"Oh!" John giggled, following Sherlock as they watched the ant crawl around on the rock. He had no idea where the little thing was going, but it had to be important cause he was moving so fast! John frowned when the ant disappeared over the side of the rock, but his expression quickly changed into a smile when he saw Sherlock's smile. "Um...you could teach me to play pirate!" John suggested.


	7. Fun and Games...Sort Of.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John learns about playing pirates, sports, and finding shapes in the clouds. But all that doesn't come without a little bout of homesickness. Can Sherlock help him with it?

Sherlock's eyes lit up when John mentioned playing pirate, and he grinned. "Okay! Oh, I haven't got any of my props or costumes, but I guess I could tell you about it all first." Sherlock found a spot on the rock to sit down and started to tell John about pirates. "Pirates are people who have biiig ships and they sail across the ocean with their crew in search of new lands and treasures. Mostly treasures. Pirates like gold. So when we play pirates, one person can be the captain and the other person can be first mate. The captain keeps his crew in order. Which... is only one person in our case, but that's okay. The captain also reads the treasure map and tells the crew which direction to go. The first mate steers the ship. Pirate ships have big sails that catch winds, and the wind pushes the ship in a certain direction. So the crew can adjust the way the sails face so that the boat goes the way they want it to."

"Okay!" John said, lighting up at the idea of learning something new. He sat across from Sherlock, crossing his legs and listening intently. Oh, it sounded like fun, being a pirate! "So...you'd be captain since you know all about it and I'd be first mate?" John asked. "I'll be a good first mate, I'll listen to you and everything!" John thought for a few moments before speaking again. "What all do we need to be pirates? What stuff do we wear?"

"You can be captain if you want to!" Sherlock said, smiling happily. "I'll teach you everything you have to know; like reading maps and using a compass. And you'd be a good leader too! But you can be first mate the first time we play so you can learn about everything." Sherlock beamed at John's questions, and he answered them happily. "Well, they can wear hats or bandannas. And they usually wear black pants and button up shirt; but we don't have to do that when we play outside 'cause it'll be too hot. And I don't have those kinds of clothes. Oh, and also eyepatches! Pirates wore eyepatches so that one of their eyes would always be adjusted to the darkness, any they'd be prepared at night."

John lit up when Sherlock said that he could be captain. "Really?" John said excitedly, eyes aglow. "Thanks! It'll be fun!" John listened as Sherlock explained what all they needed to play pirates, beaming when he remembered the pirate hat and eyepatch in Sherlock's room. "Okay! I remember you had a hat in your room. I wore it!" he said happily. "You had an eyepatch too!" Oh, John couldn't wait to play pirates with Sherlock. He'd learn all he could about the game to make sure that he knew how to play it. It was going to be so much fun!

"Yeah! Of course you can!" Sherlock beamed when he saw how bright John's eyes were. Sherlock grinned when John remembered the pirate things that he'd showed him in his room, and he nodded excitedly. "Yeah! And some toy swords, and I think I've got a bandanna somewhere. We can get all that stuff and play here this afternoon!" Sherlock smiled happily, so glad that he had somebody to play with now, somebody who would enjoy this as much as he did. 

John beamed when Sherlock nodded so excitedly, glad that he'd made Sherlock so happy. "You have toy swords? That's really cool!" John said excitedly. "And yeah! I'd love to play pirates with you this afternoon!" His eyes lit up when Sherlock smiled so widely at him. Oh, he was so happy to be Sherlock's friend, to play all sorts of fun games and have fun with the younger boy.

"Yeah! They're really fun to play with." Sherlock grinned happily when John said that he wanted to play pirates with him. He couldn't wait! He knew it was going to be so much fun. "Let's keep exploring!" Sherlock suggested, sliding off the edge of the rock. He grabbed the big net and ran ahead into the forest, giggling excitedly. He gasped when he had an idea, and he turned right, smiling back at John to make sure he was following him. "I wanna show you something cool!" 

"Okay!" John said happily, grabbing the magnifying glass and sliding off the rock behind Sherlock. He began to giggle as he ran after Sherlock into the forest. He wasn't sure where they were going, but it was bound to be fun! Everything was fun with Sherlock. He returned Sherlock's smile and caught up to him, lighting up when he spoke. "What is it?" John asked excitedly.

Sherlock grinned as John caught up to him and ran beside him. He slowed down after a moment and put his index finger to his lips. "We have to be quiet," Sherlock whispered. "They can't notice us or we'll get stung." He led John behind a bush and pointed up to the next tree over, which had a beehive in it. 

John slowed down as Sherlock did, falling silent when the other boy put a finger to his lips and explained why. "Oh!" John whispered, looking slightly fearful. "I don't wanna get stung..." John cautiously followed Sherlock to the bush, looking up at the tree and gasping almost inaudibly. "Wow..." he whispered. "It's like what you drew!"

Sherlock took John's hand and gave him a reassuring look when the other boy got a fearful look on his face. "You won't, I promise," Sherlock whispered. He made sure they weren't too close to the beehive, since there were a few bees circling around it. He peeked over at John to see his reaction, and he beamed when he saw the look of awe on John's face. He nodded when John spoke and grinned, before turning back to watch the bees for a few more moments.

John nodded when Sherlock gave him that reassuring look. John trusted Sherlock; if Sherlock said that they wouldn't get stung, then John believed him. "Okay," John said softly, gazing at the bees, completely unaware that Sherlock was watching his expression. He beamed when Sherlock nodded and grinned, returning his attention to the busy bees. "What are they doing?" John whispered.

Sherlock's chest filled with happiness when John beamed at him. "I don't know," Sherlock whispered back. "Making honey, maybe. Sometimes you'll see bees flying around flowers; that's when they're collecting nectar and pollinating the flowers. It's really cool, I can show you my book." Sherlock smiled as John watched the bees so attentively; he tugged on John's arm after a few minutes, leading him away from the beehive. "Wasn't that cool?" he said once they were a good distance away from the bees.

John listened as Sherlock, beaming widely as the other boy explained what might have been happening. "You're so smart!" John whispered. "You know all sorts of stuff!" He returned his attention to the hive, humming softly and turning when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He followed Sherlock away from the hive, nodding happily to answer the other boy's question. "Yeah!" he said excitedly. "What other cool stuff can you show me?" John was very eager, after, all this was his first time experiencing life on Earth.

Sherlock's eyes lit up at John's words. John was  _so_  nice, and it made him so happy to know that John was not only impressed by what he knew, but he was also interested in it as well. "Thanks!" he whispered back happily, grinning at John. His face lit up at John's response to his question, and he grinned, thinking about what else he could show John. "Oh! I know!" Sherlock exclaimed, turning and leading John towards the big tree that he liked to climb. Sherlock hoisted up his big net and started running again; he loved running! It made him feel like he was flying! Once they got to the tree, Sherlock set his net down and grinned at John, climbing up onto the tree. "We've gotta be careful, okay? I don't want you to fall." 

John gasped when Sherlock suddenly took off running, taking off after his friend and keeping his eyes set on Sherlock's head of curls. The last thing he wanted was to get lost! And oh! Running was so much fun; it was so fast! It made John feel like he was shooting through the sky again. John skidded to a stop when Sherlock did, nearly bumping into his friend and looking up at the tree. Oh, it was so tall! He watched as Sherlock scaled the tree, grabbing hold of the trunk like the other boy did and following him up into it. "I won't fall, I promise!" he said. "I'm following you."

Sherlock smiled as he looked down at his friend as they climbed. He slowed down, only climbing up to the next branch when he saw that John was ready and stable. He reached out a hand and offered help whenever it looked like John needed it. Once he got up to the branch that he always sat on, he helped John sit next to him and held onto the trunk of the tree so they wouldn't fall. 

John carefully climbed the tree, making sure that he was stable before going further. He was very grateful that Sherlock was there to help him. Once they stopped, John settled next to Sherlock, keeping a hold on his friend so he wouldn't fall out of the tree. "I like being up here," John said happily. "It reminds me of the sky!"

Sherlock smiled as John settled next to him, and he put an arm around John's waist to steady him. His chest filled with happiness as he gazed all around him; they weren't that high up, but compared to how high Sherlock normally was, this was rather tall. He glanced over at John when he spoke, and his eyes lit up at John's words. This reminded John of his home! Oh, Sherlock was so glad of that. "Really? Wow! What was it like, being up so high?"

John beamed when Sherlock's eyes lit up, glowing brightly as his own eyes lit up. Oh, he was so happy up here. It felt like he was closer to home. He loved it here on Earth, but he did miss the sky sometimes. "Mmhm!" John said happily, thinking for a few moments. He reached into the air and pulled his hand back, beaming as his toy hedgehog appeared. John hugged the toy close and looked over at Sherlock. "I could see everything from up there! And I slept on clouds at night, and I played on clouds...it was really cool! I wish I could show you." 

Sherlock gasped in awe when John made his hedgehog appear out of thin air. His eyes lit up, and he was so happy that his friend had his toy back. He beamed when John hugged his toy close, and he kept a hand on John's waist just in case. He listened with wide eyes as John told him about his home, and he wished he could see it for himself. "That sounds like so much fun!" Sherlock exclaimed. 

John's eyes lit up as Sherlock listened so intently to his description of what his home was like. "Oh, it is fun!" he said delightedly, hugging his toy close and beaming. "I really wish there was some way for me to show you. I think you'd like it lots." John swung his feet a bit, keeping close to Sherlock so he wouldn't fall out of the tree. Oh, that would be really scary! 

Sherlock smiled happily when John spoke, and he nodded in agreement. "I think I'd like it, too." Sherlock tightened his arm around John as John kept close to him. "Do you... do you think you can go back?" Sherlock asked hesitantly. "To your home? Is there a way?"

John thought for a moment as Sherlock asked him if he could get back to the sky. "Um..." he murmured, looking up at the sky and feeling his heart sink a bit when he realised that he didn't know. "I - I don't think so. I can't fly or anything..." John blinked sadly, grabbing his toy and hugging it close for comfort since it was the only thing he had to remind him of home.

Sherlock's face fell when John spoke, at how sad John looked and sounded. Oh no, he hadn't meant to make John sad! "I'm sorry, John," he said, hugging John close to him. "I'm sure you'll find a way to get back if you want to visit from time to time. But until then, I promise I'll try to make your experience here as good as possible. Sherlock sighed a bit sadly, wishing he could help John somehow. "Maybe there are books about stars like you," he suggested softly. "Maybe we can learn more about how to get you back home." 

John looked over at Sherlock, shifting closer and resting his head on his friend's shoulder. "It's okay," he said softly, glow dimming a bit. "I mean, you're right. Maybe I can, somehow. And...you're doing a really good job. I really like it here." John wrapped his arms around Sherlock for comfort, tucking his face into Sherlock's neck a bit. "Maybe your books will help, yeah. But I don't want to go back for good. I mean...this is my home now."

Sherlock gave a small smile when John looked over at him, and his heart warmed when John rested his head on his shoulder. He felt his heart soar a bit when John told him that he was doing a good job; oh, that was good to hear! All he wanted was for his friend to be happy. His face lit up and his heart soared with happiness when John wrapped his arms around him, and he beamed, curling his arm around John. His expression softened and he looked over at John in awe when he spoke. "Really?" he whispered quietly. "You mean that?"

John's glow brightened a bit when Sherlock curled his arm around him, and he peeked up to see Sherlock beaming. Oh, that was what he wanted to see! That was what he was sent here for, to make Sherlock happy, so it made him happy to see that he was successful. He smiled softly when Sherlock gave him that soft, awestruck look, nodding to answer the question. "Yeah," John replied, just as quietly. "I do."

"Oh," Sherlock breathed softly, hugging John tightly. "I'm glad you think that." Sherlock smiled softly and peeked at John shyly. This was real; he had a friend now, and that friend was staying. That friend didn't want to leave. That friend considered this his new home now, and Sherlock would do everything to make sure that John wanted to stay. 

John's glow brightened that much more when Sherlock hugged him tightly. "I do. It's really nice here, and everyone seem to like me." John returned Sherlock's small smile, squeezing him gently when he saw the shy look on his friend's face. Of course John didn't want to leave. He really liked it here on Earth. Everyone had made him feel so welcomed and appreciated that he couldn't help but want to stay. Unless something absolutely drastic happened, that would always be the case.

"Everyone does like you," Sherlock confirmed. "Especially me." Sherlock's chest swelled when John squeezed him so gently, and he smiled, squeezing John back. Oh, he really liked John very much, and he was so glad that he'd made that wish last night. 

John made a happy sound and lit up when Sherlock agreed that everyone liked him. "I like everyone here, too," John said. "Especially you." He hummed happily when Sherlock hugged him back. Oh, he was so happy that Sherlock had wished for a friend and that he'd been the one that had had fallen to grant that wish.

Sherlock's eyes lit up and he beamed when John spoke and told him that he liked him. He'd never get tired of hearing that, or anything nice that John said to him. Sherlock sighed contentedly and smiled, keeping his arm wrapped around John as he swung his legs a bit and breathed in the fresh air.

John beamed when Sherlock lit up, pleased that he'd made his friend happy. That was all he wanted, after all. If Sherlock was happy, then John was happy. John kept one arm wrapped around Sherlock's shoulders, mimicking the other boy and swinging his feet a bit. It was so nice and warm outside; he wouldn't mind spending all day out here.

Sherlock grinned, feeling very warm and safe as John kept an arm wrapped around his shoulders. He giggled softly as John started to swing his feet too; he felt so happy, sitting here with John. He didn't feel so alone anymore. 

John hummed a random little melody to himself as they swung their feet in the air, glad that Sherlock was grinning as much as he was. His heart warmed when he heard Sherlock giggle. Oh, they were both so happy here together! After a few moments, John hummed softly. "What do you wanna do?" he asked, peeking up at Sherlock.

Sherlock smiled happily when John started to hum; his melody sounded pretty! He looked over at John when he spoke, and he beamed at the way John peeked up at him. "Um... We can go back to the shed and find something else to play with," Sherlock suggested. "I can teach you about different sports!"

John gave Sherlock a shy smile when the other boy heard him humming. He wasn't really sure what he was humming, just that he was making it up as he went. John listened as Sherlock spoke, nodding in agreement. "Okay!" he said happily. "That could be fun!"

Sherlock's heart warmed at John's shy smile, and he beamed when John liked his idea. "Okay!" Sherlock made sure John was stable before letting go of him and starting to climb down the tree, branch by branch. He helped John by pointing out where to step. He grinned once they both made it to the ground safely, and he grabbed all their things from the ground before starting to walk back towards the shed.

John was a little scared to climb out of the tree at first, but he knew Sherlock wouldn't hurt him. He followed Sherlock out of the tree, climbing down using the branches that he was told to. Once he was on firm ground, John dusted himself off and looked over at Sherlock, grinning back at him. He'd done it! Feeling quite proud, John followed Sherlock back to the shed, wondering what sports he'd learn about. 

Sherlock's heart soared when John grinned back at him, and he giggled quietly, smiling happily as he walked back to the shed with John by his side. Once they arrived, Sherlock put the net and the magnifying glass back. He took a look at the assortment of sports balls, and he hummed softly, wondering which one he could show John first. "Do you wanna pick one?" he asked. 

John stood in front of the shed as Sherlock opened it, eyes widening at all of the balls and other things. There were so many, which one did he want to choose? Oh! John went over and picked up a white ball with black patches all over it. "What is this one for?" he asked as he tossed it and caught it.

"That one's called a soccer ball," Sherlock explained, smiling when John tossed it up in the air and caught it. "It's used to play soccer, sometimes called football in other countries, and you kick it across the ground with your feet." Sherlock held his hands out for the ball, and he led John over to the middle of the grass. He set the ball in front of him and kicked it lightly. "You have to use the inside of your foot here," Sherlock said, bending down to point at his foot and show John. He went to retrieve the ball and put it in front of John. "You try!"

John listened as Sherlock explained what the ball was, tossing the ball over to him when he held his hands out for it. He followed Sherlock to the middle of the grass, watching intently as the other boy demonstrated how to kick the ball. Oh, that didn't look so hard. John noted where Sherlock pointed on his foot, nodding when the ball was placed in front of him. John carefully turned his foot like Sherlock had, lightly kicking it towards his friend. "Like that?" he asked, looking over at Sherlock.

Sherlock beamed when John kicked the ball towards him, and he nodded. "Exactly! So in soccer, there's two teams. They play on a rectangular field, and there's a goal at each end. A goal is basically a big net where each team tries to kick the ball into so they can score points. Each team has a goalie, which protects the goal and keeps the ball away so the other team can't score. And the players run and kick the ball really fast," Sherlock explained. "But since we don't have two teams or any goals, we can just kick the ball back and forth."

John smiled widely when Sherlock approved of his gentle kick, listening as the rules were explained. "That doesn't sound hard," John said thoughtfully. "It sounds fun, really!" He nodded when Sherlock said that they could kick the ball back and forth. "That'll be okay," he said. Of course it would. He was with Sherlock, his friend, and that was enough to make him happy. John stood there, waiting patiently for Sherlock to kick the ball back to him.

Sherlock's eyes lit up and he beamed when John decided that this sport sounded fun. He nodded when John approved of his idea, and he took a few steps back, putting a bit of distance between them before setting the ball down. "When the ball comes toward you, you can use the inside of your foot to stop it," Sherlock said. He gave John a smile before kicking the ball towards him, a little bit harder this time since they were farther apart now.

John stood still as Sherlock took a few steps back, figuring this was part of his idea. Sure enough, Sherlock put the ball down at his feet and explained how to stop the ball. John stood there, ready and waiting as the ball came toward him. He stuck out his foot...oh. He was a bit late. The ball went right past him for a few feet. Giving Sherlock an apologetic look, John ran after the ball, bringing it back and setting it at his feet. He kicked the ball to Sherlock, figuring he would get it next time. 

Sherlock gave John a reassuring smile when he didn't stop the ball. "It's okay, you'll get it next time," he said encouragingly. He smiled as John went after the ball and brought it back, and he ran a bit to his right as John kicked the ball towards him. "Good kick! The speed was perfect! Try turning a bit so you can get the ball to go straight where you want it to." Sherlock waited until John was ready before kicking the ball towards him again.

John smiled when Sherlock encouraged him. He wasn't too upset about not getting it on the first time. He was learning, after all. John watched as Sherlock ran to the right to get the ball; it seemed he needed to work on his aim a bit as well. But that was okay. John lit up and beamed proudly when Sherlock praised him so highly. "Thanks," he said happily, nodding as he considered Sherlock's advice. "I'll try that." He waited, watching the ball and moving accordingly. He missed again, but this time it was much closer than he had been. "Almost..." he said, getting the ball and turning just as Sherlock had suggested. John kicked the ball and grinned when it went right to Sherlock. "Like that?" he asked.

Sherlock's heart soared when he saw the effect that his praise had had on John. He loved to see that he'd made John happy, made John feel good about himself. He gave another encouraging smile when John missed the ball again, and he nodded when John spoke. "You'll get it." Sherlock waited patiently as John got the ball, and he stopped the ball as it came right towards him. His eyes lit up and he beamed proudly, grinning over at John. "Yeah! Good job!" Sherlock kicked the ball over to John again; he was willing to practice this with John as much as he wanted to, until he got it perfect.

John nodded when Sherlock encouraged him again, and he gave off a bright yellow glow when Sherlock beamed so proudly and praised him again. Oh, Sherlock made him so happy, and it made him even happier to see that he made Sherlock happy. "Thanks!" he said brightly, keeping his eye on the ball as Sherlock kicked it to him. And this time...oh, he did it! John stopped the ball right when it got to him, adjusting his position accordingly. "I did it!" John said delightedly, eyes giving off a bright blue light. He grinned widely at Sherlock, looking down at the ball as if to say "see what I did". 

Sherlock's eyes lit up when he saw that John was glowing bright yellow; he knew that that meant that John was very happy, and that made Sherlock glad. "You're welcome," Sherlock said. He watched as the ball rolled towards John, and his chest filled with excitement and happiness when John stopped the ball. His face lit up when John grinned at him so widely, and Sherlock beamed back proudly. "You did! Good job!" Sherlock grinned happily and giggled joyfully. They continued to kick the ball back and forth, sometimes missing and sometimes not, but that didn't matter because they were having so much fun. 

John felt happiness fill his chest and make his heart swell when Sherlock lit up and beamed at him. He'd made Sherlock happy; he seemed to be really good at that! "Thanks!" he said delightedly, joining in on Sherlock's laughter and kicking the ball back to Sherlock. Oh, this was so much fun! Sometimes they got a little eager with their kicks, kicking the ball too hard and letting it get away, but that was okay. They were both having so much fun, and that was what mattered. Besides, John really liked running around, and it seemed that Sherlock did too.

Sherlock beamed when John joined in on his laughter. He felt so light and free as they ran around, and it made him glad to see that John seemed to be enjoying it too. Once they got the hang of kicking the ball to each other, Sherlock decided to kick the ball a bit to the side so that John had to run to intercept it. They were more active that way, and after a while, Sherlock was breathless from all the running. He grinned at John and decided it was time for a break, walking slowly and catching his breath before finding a spot in the grass and sitting down. "That was fun," he said softly, smiling over at John happily. 

John loved being so active. It was really fun, and it made his heart pump really fast. However, he was quite glad when Sherlock decided to take a break; he needed to catch his breath! Breathing heavily, John followed Sherlock over to the patch of grass, sitting next to him and beaming. "It was," John said breathlessly, flopping down onto his back and looking at the sky.

Sherlock smiled warmly when John came and sat next to him, and he giggled quietly when John flopped down on his back. Sherlock followed suit and laid down next to John, taking a deep breath as he looked up at the blue sky. "I don't know if you did this before, or if you knew about it, but humans will look up at clouds and try to see what they look like. Like... that one kinda looks like... a dragon." 

John felt his heart warm when Sherlock giggled, folding his arms behind his head as he looked up at the sky. He listened as Sherlock explained what humans did while they looked at clouds, humming softly as he studied the puffy shapes. "No, I never did that..." John said softly. "I saw the tops of clouds, not these shapes." He looked up at the sky, making a thoughtful face. "That one looks like a cat, kinda!" He said, pointing up at the one he'd seen.

Sherlock nodded understandingly when John spoke. "That's what I thought," he said softly, glancing over at John and smiling as John looked up at the sky so thoughtfully. He looked up at the cloud that John pointed out, and his face lit up. "Yeah, it does!" Sherlock tried to find another cloud that resembled something. "Hmm... that one looks like a lion," he said, pointing up and smiling over at John. 

John beamed when Sherlock agreed with his interpretation of the cloud he'd seen. "I thought you'd see it," John said softly, scanning the skies for another cloud that he thought looked like an animal. He turned to look at Sherlock when the other boy spoke, looking up at the cloud that was pointed out and grinning. "Oh, yeah! I see it," he said, drawing a circle in the air. "Hmm...oh! That one. Right there. It's a turtle!" John pointed at the cloud he'd seen.

Sherlock grinned when John agreed with him, and he smiled when he watched John draw a circle in the air with his fingertip. He looked over when John found something, and his eyes lit up when he saw the turtle as well. "Yeah! The circular shell, and it's got the four legs and a head too! And even a little tail!" Sherlock giggled happily and gazed up contentedly at the clouds. "Hmm, wanna keep playing soccer or switch to a different sport?"

"Mmhm!" John said happily, sighing contentedly as he gazed up at the clouds. Oh, this was very nice and calming. The clouds were so pretty, and the sun was so warm, he could happily stay out here for the rest of the day. John turned when Sherlock spoke, humming thoughtfully. "What other sports are there?" he asked. "I want to learn about as much as I can."

Sherlock closed his eyes and hummed happily as he felt the warmth of the sun on his face. He smiled when John spoke, and he sat up. "Oh, there's  _lots_  more sports! We don't have the equipment and stuff for all of them, though. We can go on the computer later and I can show you all the sports there are; but for now let me show you what we do have..." Sherlock stood up and offered a hand to John, helping him up as well. He led John back to the shed and opened it up. "This is a basketball; this one's a volleyball," he explained, pointing to each of them. "These are tennis balls, which go with the tennis rackets."

John took Sherlock's hand and stood, dusting himself off and smiling at his friend as they went back to the shed to check out the other equipment. He couldn't wait to learn about all of the different sports! He looked at the other balls that Sherlock pointed out, testing the names after Sherlock said them. They all had such interesting names! John looked thoughtfully at the balls before going over and picking up the orange basketball. He bounced it a few times before returning to Sherlock. "So, you play basketball with this. What's that?" John asked.

Sherlock smiled when John picked the basketball and bounced it a few times, and waved John over, leading him back to the front yard. "That," he said, pointing up, "Is a basketball hoop. It's... a bit too tall for us. You have to throw the basketball into the hoop," he explained. "Again, for the real sport, there's two of them, and each team tries to score in the other hoop. Oh, and when they run across the court, they're not allowed to hold the basketball, they have to bounce it on the floor as they move. You can try throwing it if you want; I've only gotten it in once before. It's really tall."

John listened as Sherlock explained the basics of basketball, looking up at the hoop. Oh, it was so tall! John looked back at Sherlock, bouncing the ball a few times. "So..." he said, walking as he bounced the ball. "They have to do this? Walk and bounce the ball?" John stopped when he got up to the hoop, eyeing it with determination in his eyes. Using all of his strength, John hurled the ball up to the hoop, frowning when he didn't even get it up to the rim. He chased after the ball, eventually getting it and returning to Sherlock. "I wish we had a smaller hoop," John said softly.

Sherlock nodded in confirmation at John's question. "Yeah, exactly like that!" He smiled a bit when he saw the look of determination in John's eyes as he approached the hoop. He gave a sympathetic look when John missed the shot, and he smiled warmly when John got the ball and returned it to him. "Yeah, me too," he replied softly. "If you improve your form, though, you'll get it closer." Sherlock stood in front of the hoop to show John. "So, one hand goes below the ball like this, and the other one is at the side like this. And... you have to do something with your elbows." Sherlock bit his lip before launching the ball as hard as he could. He frowned when it missed again, and he sighed, running to get the ball. "I guess for now we can just practice passing the ball to each other," he suggested. 

John watched as Sherlock showed him how to hold a basketball properly, making a sympathetic face as Sherlock threw the ball and missed. Maybe they'd have to get a bit taller before they could make a basket. John nodded when Sherlock returned to him, glancing up at the goal again. "Yeah, we can do that. We can bounce it too," he said, waiting for Sherlock to do that. "Maybe we can make baskets when we get a little bigger."

Sherlock nodded when John spoke, and he smiled. "Yeah! I bet we will! Mycroft can do it; I'll get him to show you sometime!" Sherlock grinned and stood across from John, throwing the ball towards the ground so that it would bounce once before going towards John. "This ball's actually a smaller version; official size basketballs are really big and kinda heavy," Sherlock explained.

"Yeah, I bet he can! He's really tall!" John said happily. John watched as Sherlock bounced the ball to him, catching it easily and bouncing it back to Sherlock. "How much bigger are they?" he asked curiously. This ball wasn't too heavy, so surely a regular sized one wouldn't be too big.

Sherlock smiled and nodded when John spoke. "Yeah! We're gonna be as tall as him one day!" Sherlock beamed proudly when John caught the ball and bounced it back, and Sherlock continued bouncing it back to John. "Oh, pretty big," Sherlock said. He caught the ball when John threw it to him again, and he estimated how much bigger the diameter would be compared to the one they had. "Mmm, about this much bigger," Sherlock said, indicating with his hands. "I think." 

"I hope so!" John said happily, looking down at the ball as it bounced between them and listening to Sherlock's guesses. "Oh...that's not too much bigger," he said softly, lighting up when he noticed a sparkling on the ball. "Sherlock! Look down at the ball. I - I think my stardust got on it when I caught it! It's really pretty!" 

Sherlock's face lit up when he noticed John glow brighter, and he wondered what the other boy had noticed that made him excited. His eyes brightened when John spoke, and he caught the ball, holding it closer and examining it. "You're right!" he said excitedly. "It looks pretty in the sunlight!" Sherlock grinned and bounced the ball back to John. 

John beamed when Sherlock began to examine the basketball, lighting up when the other boy saw what he'd been talking about. "It does!" John said happily. "It's all glittery and sparkly and stuff!" He caught the ball and held it out in the sunlight, turning it this way and that to make it sparkle and admiring the glitter for a few moments before bouncing it back to Sherlock.

Sherlock beamed when John spoke, and he nodded in agreement. He smiled softly when he watched John study the basketball, twisting it around in the light. He smiled when John bounced the ball back to him, and they continued for a few more minutes. "Hmm, we should probably get inside soon; I think it's almost lunchtime," Sherlock said, smiling over at John. "Come on!"

John caught the ball when Sherlock spoke, looking down as he felt his stomach rumble. "I think it is," he said, smiling shyly at Sherlock as he poked at his empty tummy. John put the basketball into the shed and ran to catch up with Sherlock, eager to get into the kitchen for lunch. 

Sherlock giggled softly when John poked at his stomach; he waited for John patiently as John put the basketball back, and he beamed when John was by his side again. He opened the door for John and went in after him, helping John untie his shoes before untying his own and toeing them off. 

"Thank you," John said softly, following Sherlock into the house. He watched as Sherlock untied his shoes, giving him another small smile as he toed them off. Maybe he should learn how to do that himself. "Um...could you teach me how to tie my shoes?" John asked shyly, smiling sheepishly at Sherlock as they went into the kitchen for lunch. "Anyone here could, really..."

Sherlock's heart warmed at John's soft 'thank you' and the soft smile that John gave him, as well as the shy way he spoke and his sheepish smile. Sherlock gave John a warm, reassuring smile and nodded. "Of course; I'll teach you right after lunch. You don't have to feel bad about it, though; I don't mind helping you." 

John visibly relaxed as Sherlock gave him a warm, reassuring smile and nodded at him. He felt bad for not knowing and always having to have Sherlock do it for him. "Okay," he said softly, smiling back. "Thank you." He followed Sherlock into the kitchen, beaming when he turned around and noticed that his glittery footprints had reappeared, sparkling on the floor as he padded into the kitchen. "What's for lunch?" he asked, eyeing the fridge.

Sherlock turned to look at John when he spoke, and he smiled softly when he noticed John's footprints were back. "I dunno," Sherlock said. "Let's go find mum and dad." Sherlock padded over to the living room, where it appeared his mum had just returned from the shops. Oh, that meant she'd brought back new things for John! Sherlock's face lit up and he grinned over at John, waving him over. 


End file.
